How It Ends
by dreaZALA
Summary: When Frost Giants steal the Casket of Ancient Winters from the weapons vault and break the treaty, they find themselves once again at war with Asgard. They make Midgard their battlefield, and the Avengers are called to fight beside the Asgardians to save their home. When certain truths come to light about his parentage, who will Loki choose to fight alongside?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Thor was to be made king on this day, as the first son of Odin and the most formidable warrior in all of Asgard. Born into royalty and bred on the battlefields, he was all that a king should be. He was strong and courageous, with the pride of a lion and a face that stole beats from hearts. He was the glowing beacon of light that Odin had been in his more youthful years, the perfect replacement for the man that had seen better years.

Loki stood at the front of the room beside his mother Frigga. She was beaming with pride as Thor made his way to kneel before their father, and Loki turned his eyes away from her in fear she would see them glow with envy. He looked instead to the crowd, who had eyes only for his brother, and his lip curled slightly in distaste at the blatant love on their faces for him. No eye even wavered for a moment to himself, and even if they had, the look was not bound to be pleasant.

Thor was the God of Thunder, the bringer of storms that fed the lands with water and youth. The strikes of power channeled through his hammer, Mjolnir, brought light to every face during even the darkest of times.

Loki was the God of Mischief, the bringer of less honorable things. The Asgardians had little appreciation for his magic, and even less for his manipulations. He was formidable in battle, but more for his silver tongue than his strength. He was vicious and calculating, everything that Thor was not and he was hated for it.

Loki meant to drown out Odin as he spoke the fateful words, but as always his voice boomed out over his people and commanded such presence that Loki could not escape from the words. His tongue sought to speak out in protest, and he had to bite it between his teeth to keep it in place. That kept him distracted enough that he nearly missed Odin's condemning words.

''On this day, as your father and as the Allfather, I proclaim you-!''

Odin's words fell short, his eyes looking from Thor to something much more distant. Loki looked between the two with pursed lips, trying to keep the smirk from his lips as Thor's face fell.

''Frost Giants,'' Odin murmured, before standing from his throne and striding quickly from the room.

Loki was quick at Odin's heels, too quick, and Thor rose and joined his brother en route of their father. He cast a glance of mistrust toward the mischief maker, but did not speak a word as they left the grand hall. Just as the doors closed behind them, he heard Frigga address the crowd to calm them as gasps and cries sounded throughout the room.

* * *

When they reached the weapon's vault deep with the depths of the palace, they were grounded by what they saw. Two of their men were dead on the ground, their blood staining the cold tiles beneath their cooling bodies. There were two dead Frost Giants on the floor beside them, their bodies of ice shattered and splintered and broken.

Worst of all, the pedestal that the Casket of Ancient Winters had once perched on was empty, and the room was vacant of its glowing blue presence.

Their father silently approached the pedestal, his hands pressing to the empty space where it had once rested. Thor and Loki moved to stand at his sides, silent as they waited for their father to speak.

''The treaty has been broken,'' Odin rumbled, his expression betraying the anger that bubbled beneath the surface of his skin. ''The Frost Giants will rise again.''

''What does this mean, father?'' Thor asked, the weary tone of his voice not befitting his usual abrasive demeanor.

Odin was slow to turn around to face his two sons, but when he did his face was grave. He looked upon Thor, whose face was lit by the torch on the wall, and then to Loki, whose face was hidden by the shadows the light cast.

''This means war, my sons.''

* * *

When Odin went to address his people, Loki disappeared into the crowd and escaped to his room. Just as the door was about to shut, a hand caught the edge of the wood and threw it back open. Thor thundered into the room, and Loki swallowed hard as he pressed the door silently closed behind him.

''Look what you have done!'' Thor shouted, turning once he'd reached the center of the room to face Loki. His cheeks were blazing red, and his body shook with anger.

''I know not of what you speak,'' Loki said blankly, his expression giving nothing away.

''You damn well know!'' Thor rumbled, and in two quick strides he was standing dangerously close to Loki, his hand tense on the handle of his hammer. ''You let the Frost Giants into Asgard!''

''For what reason would I do such an atrocious thing?'' Loki asked, his eyes narrowing at his brother, playing with the frayed edges of Thor's convictions.

Thor faltered slightly, but he shook his head to clear his doubt, his anger rising once again. ''You have always been jealous. Perhaps you meant to ruin my coronation.''

''I am your brother,'' Loki offered, feigning offense.

''You are the God of Mischief first,'' Thor countered lowly, turning his back to his brother as he headed toward the door.

''Do you intend to tell father of your suspicions?'' Loki called out wearily behind him, his mask of innocence falling for only a moment.

Just as Thor's hand settled on the handle, he looked back over his shoulder. ''You have brought war to your people, brother. There is nothing father could do that would be worse than the guilt that will haunt you for your actions.''

* * *

On Midgard, there was a flurry of SH.I.E.L.D. vehicles all speeding toward the same destination. A freak storm had landed in the heart of Las Vegas, and the small glimpses that they received of the event had held visions of beings within the terrible winds. The storm was not moving but expanding, claiming more land as each moment passed.

''Whatever this is, it's not natural,'' Agent Coulson said, his voice travelling over each of their radios. He was stuck a fair distance away from the action, having been on a date with a beautiful concert cellist and away from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. ''We need to shut it down.''

Nick Fury remained back at headquarters and seated behind his desk. More chatter crossed over the radio that sat on the desk in front of him and he switched it off.

Something about the events did not sit well with him, and his gut was twisting and turning with unease. He went over again the photographs of the storm, of the beasts that came with it and the people that had been frozen by the cold winds.

He stared at them for a long time, nearly an hour before reaching slowly into the pocket hidden in his leather trench coat and removing a key. It fitted perfectly into the lock on the top left drawer of his desk, and he removed the solitary content from its depths.

It was a thick folder, marked confidential in red across the face of it. He held his breath slightly as he pulled it open, and his face was solemn as his eyes grazed over the title.

THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my story. I thought I would try something different, and create an alternate universe for the characters and challenge myself. I hope I do not disappoint with this story. Please continue reading and review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Loki caught up to Thor in the hallway the next morning on their way to the throne room. Odin had sent for them, requesting their presence immediately. Sif and the Warriors Three were with him, and together they walked urgently to their destination in a tense silence.

Their father was standing in front of his throne facing them when they entered, his left hand clenched tightly between both of Frigga's and the other grasping his staff. He was dressed in his battle-worn armor, his face as grave as ever. They came to a stop before him, and knelt down on the tile.

''The Frost Giants have made Midgard the battlefield for this war as it once was in the days of old,'' Odin said. ''All gathered here will first go to Midgard, and later I will send for Heimdall to open the Bifrost and allow our army through.''

''Is that wise?'' Loki asked meekly. ''To go to Midgard without the strength of our army at our backs?''

''We have Odin and Thor!'' Volstagg exclaimed. ''Your cowardice is out of place as always.''

''Isn't Loki always out of place?'' This remark came from Sif, just quietly enough that the Allfather and Frigga could not hear. The others chuckled lightly, and Loki's expression fell.

''Adorn your finest armor,'' Odin commanded, and they all stood. Loki used his magic to change, and the others moved to leave the room to do so themselves. ''Make haste, my warriors. We leave when the sun reaches its highest peak in the sky.''

* * *

''You sent Clint to retrieve the others?'' Natasha demanded, her face void but her displeasure clearly evident in her tone.

''He only has to retrieve Bruce Banner,'' Director Fury explained, unaffected by her irritation. ''I secured Steve Rogers and Agent Coulson is fetching the diva.''

''You called in Tony Stark?'' she asked incredulously. ''He's not exactly a team player.''

Director Fury tossed her a folder of newly surfaced photographs from the freak storm in Las Vegas. It had spread to the rest of Nevada, and was even starting to leak into California and Utah. Natasha fingered through the pictures, the first being a clear shot of the ice creatures and the next photos of their fallen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Natasha tossed the folder back to the desk without even the slightest flicker of compassion in her eyes.

''We need all the help we can get,'' Director Fury stated. ''The ice demons took out nearly half of our agents. We don't get to be picky in our time of desperation.''

Natasha said nothing.

The door suddenly slammed open, and Agent Coulson strode in with Agent Hill at his back. His demeanor was calm despite the obvious urgency in his actions.

''What is it?'' Director Fury demanded.

''We have another problem,'' Agent Coulson stated. He went straight to the computer on Director Fury's desk and quickly typed in his password to gain access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure system. His hands flew over the keyboard, and in a matter of moments he pulled up a video taken from a satellite of the middle of the desert in New Mexico.

''What the hell is that?'' Director Fury demanded, watching as a stream of light came down straight from the sky and burst into the ground, leaving no damage in its wake but people instead. ''Where are they now?''

''We have people on the way to them,'' Agent Coulson stated. ''I suggest we make our way there as well.''

* * *

Loki raised his fist to his mouth and coughed as a flurry of dust rose around them from the force of their arrival. The land was desolate, and he wondered why his father had picked such a place for them to land.

''The Frost Giants have made home of here, in the land that is called America,'' Odin spoke, answering Loki's question as if he had spoken it aloud. ''As I speak, there are mortals on their way to us. They seek an explanation to our arrival on their lands. I thought it better to pick somewhere we were not to be overheard.''

''We are exposed,'' Loki said, his eyes scanning the lands. ''If they seek to harm us, we have no means to hide or escape.''

''What have we to fear from these mortals?'' Thor questioned with a laugh, clapping his bother on the back in jest.

Loki pressed his tongue to his cheek, holding it there to still his words. He knew the mortals to be beneath them, but he still thought it unwise to write them off as harmless when they were not exactly certain of their capabilities.

Odin could see dust rising in the distance, and vague black shapes in the middle of it moving quickly toward their position.

''What demons be these?'' Hogun demanded, his hand tensing around the handle of his mace. The others gripped their weapons tightly as well, weary of the unfamiliar machinery that barreled their way.

''A mortal contraption,'' Odin pacified. ''Fear them not.''

As the Allfather, it was Odin's duty to know all of the nine realms and the workings of each. They were relieved by Odin's words, yet their bodies were still tensed and wearied as the great machines approached.

The black machines stopped a few hundred yards away, and people emerged from within. To the Asgardians, all of the mortals that approached them looked the same, adorned in identical blue uniforms and shortly cropped hairstyles. They had weapons drawn as they neared, but they did not move to make contact nor attack.

Odin spotted one last black machine making its way toward them, and he knew it was for this one that they had waited. The crowd of mortals parted to allow the new arrivals through, and they wearily approached the Asgardians.

One was a man with dark skin, dressed in leather with a patch over his eye. His face was hardened and mean, but with a softness around the edges that reminded Odin of Heimdall. Next to him was a man who looked much like the others, except his shoulders held authority and his face a meek smile. He wore a suit and a pair of darkened glasses.

There were two others at their backs, but Odin did not pay any mind to them. His attention was on the two men, who stepped forward the next moment to address the Asgardians.

* * *

''Identify yourselves,'' Agent Coulson commanded.

The large man at the front of the hostiles stepped forward, and when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tensed their hands on their weapons he stopped. ''My name is Odin Allfather, King of Asgard.'' He looked behind himself, and ushered two of the men forward to stand at his sides.

''This is my firstborn son, Thor,'' Odin announced, motioning his hand toward the man on his left.

Natasha Romanoff watched from behind Fury's back as a smile spread over the man's face, and it was innocent and charming. Thor was beautiful, with yellow silk for hair and a complexion of gold. He exuded confidence, and his body was rippled with muscle and strength.

''My second, Loki.''

Natasha's eyes flickered to the other man on Odin's right, and they widened slightly in surprise at the complete contrast he was to his brother. Where Thor was light, Loki was dark. His hair was slicked back and the color of a raven, and his skin was pale and fair. Where Thor was large, Loki was lithe, with elegantly sculpted cheekbones and eyes so sharp they cut.

Odin motioned behind himself, at the last four hostiles at his back. ''And our comrades, Sif and the Warriors Three.''

Natasha moved her eyes from Loki, to the others. Sif was beautiful, with dark brown hair and stunningly bright eyes. Even beneath all the armor it was obvious she had a body that most women would die for.

Natasha spent less time on the others. There was a large one, a bright one, and a solemn one. She did not know their names, and did not care to. It was obvious who the important players were.

''And what is your purpose here?'' Agent Coulson asked.

''The Frost Giants have made home of your lands. It is the battlefield they have chosen for their war with my people,'' Odin explained. ''We mean no harm to Midgard, but the same can not be said for the Frost Giants.''

Agent Coulson only frowned in response. Director Fury stepped forward and spoke in his place. ''And if we refuse to be the host of a war we play no part in?''

Odin hesitated slightly, his face grim. ''I do not believe you have a choice in the matter.''

''I am familiar with Norse mythology,'' Director Fury said suddenly, angered by Odin's statement. ''Are we supposed to just accept that you think you are from Asgard and your sons are gods, as we are supposed to just accept your war on our land?''

''I thought an explanation would be due,'' Odin replied evenly. ''And when the war is over I will give it.''

Director Fury looked to Agent Coulson for a long moment, before looking again to Odin. ''I think we deserve an explanation now. We are willing to give you something in return for your information.''

Odin raised an eyebrow at this. ''And what have you to offer us?''

''Father,'' Thor interrupted. He moved to stand in front of Odin, his body turned slightly to give the humans his back. Natasha frowned at this obvious show of disrespect, but she kept her lips pressed shut until it was time for her to speak. ''Why are we wasting time with these mortals?''

''This is their land, my son. Not our own,'' Odin pacified. He placed his hand on Thor's shoulder and moved him aside. He looked back to Director Fury. ''My question still stands.''

Director Fury nodded. ''Our world has been assaulted time and time again by increasingly formidable threats. In every time of need, there has been an equally formidable opponent rise from the ashes to stop them. In a case such as this, where the threat is thought to come from worlds away and would be too much for only one, I have chosen to assemble these heroes into a single unstoppable force. They are called the Avengers.''

Director Fury hesitated, but it was only for the slightest moment. ''If you give us the information we seek, we will give you them.''

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha moved from behind Director Fury and came to a stop beside him. The Asgardians took notice of her then, and she saw Thor raise an eyebrow in appreciation. She was beautiful and knew it, with hair of fire and big green eyes. She adorned a tight leather uniform that left almost nothing to the imagination, fitting her body as if it were painted on.

Her expression was nonexistent, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw this draw Loki's attention. His own expression was guarded, but inside he was weary of her.

''This is Natasha Romanoff,'' Director Fury introduced. ''She is known as the Black Widow. She is one of the Avengers.''

There was laughter behind Odin in response to this proclamation. Odin and Loki did not take part in their amusement, and their faces both showed their displeasure at the spectacle the others were making. ''A mortal woman?'' One of them spat out between laughs.

Director Fury frowned.

''Perhaps they would like a demonstration of my skill set?'' Natasha offered lowly.

Agent Coulson started to object, afraid more that she would disrespect the otherworldly people than for her own welfare, but one of them stepped forward to accept her proposal.

''I will humor the fair maiden,'' said one of the Warriors Three. His name was Fandral, she learned, when one of them whispered for him to go easy on her.

Fandral moved toward her, his face adorning the arrogant smile that was sure to have won him the hearts of many women. The others held broad smiles at his back, except Odin and Loki, who were both solemn.

''Must we go to such measures?'' Agent Coulson offered. ''I assure you, Agent Romanoff is more than qualified-'' When he realized his words were falling on deaf ears, he fell silent.

Fandral and Natasha both walked to the space between their people, until they each were only a foot away from the other.

''The lady first,'' Fandral offered condescendingly, his voice laced with amusement.

Natasha did not hesitate, and struck out. She cried out from the effort, but the blow did not even turn his head. Her face showed fear when it failed to bring him down, and he laughed in her face.

''Do not feel bad my dear,'' he said, laying his hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her. Perhaps he thought that if he were to comfort her, she would find her way into his bed later.

Fandral realized his mistake only a moment before the others realized it as well. Her face drained instantly of her feigned fear, and she leapt towards him. Her body spun around his, spilling around him like liquid as she twisted them both to the ground.

Fandral landed right on his face, and Natasha perched beside him in a crouch. He cried out in surprise, and she was quick to twist his arm behind his back and secure his place on the ground. She crushed her boot to the small of his back, not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to keep him immobile.

''Let me up, wench!'' he spat into the ground, his face red with anger and embarrassment. She released him abruptly and returned to Director Fury's side, her face completely void.

Loki's eyebrows were raised slightly in shock at the transpired events, but when that gave way a smile twitched at his lips. The others looked horrified at Fandral's defeat, so Loki's reaction caught her eye. He met hers for only a moment before his line of vision was blocked by the shamed warrior.

Fandral came to a stop in front of Loki, and when he moved to stand back by the others Loki's face was serious and drawn from whatever words had been spoken between them. Natasha noted his clenched fists at his sides before she looked away, the affair between them not holding her attention.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and looked to Odin. She was not used to having to sell herself, but Director Fury had ordered her to if it were necessary. ''I will prove to be a valuable ally to you during your war with the Frost Giants, as will each of the other Avengers. The cost to you is only information. It is a small price to pay for our support, but a hefty one if you are to refuse.''

Director Fury shot her a look, but she ignored him. She would be reprimanded for her last statement, but it seemed to make an impression on Odin.

''You took down one of my finest warriors in a matter of seconds,'' Odin said. ''I believe I would be a fool to deny this request.''

''Thank you for your cooperation,'' Natasha said, dipping her head slightly before turning on her heel and heading back toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle she had vacated.

Agent Coulson and Director Fury stepped forward with extended hands and introduced themselves to Odin. Odin shook each hand in turn after he had gotten over the initial confusion of the gesture, and he and the others followed wearily behind as they sought transportation back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

* * *

Natasha sat in the front of the SUV with Director Fury, with Odin and his sons in the back with Agent Coulson. Natasha turned in her seat to tell them to buckle up, and they only looked to her in confusion. She unfastened her own seatbelt and reached back to the nearest Asgardian, to Loki, to demonstrate how the mechanism worked.

He shied back from her hands almost violently. ''Do not touch me, woman,'' he snarled. Natasha had done nothing to ease his concerns regarding the humans and their capabilities. He had been amused to see Fandral defeated, but the act itself had not been amusing at all.

''You may touch me,'' Thor rumbled with a smile. Natasha was unaffected by his charm, but took him up on his offer. She reached over him and extended the strap of the seatbelt, before wrapping it over his body and clicking it in place. Loki watched her hands carefully before mirroring her actions with his own seatbelt. Agent Coulson instructed Odin at the back of the SUV, and when he was secured in as well Director Fury started the engine.

All three Asgardians visibly jumped at the sound, and their hands grasped the handles on the car doors as it lurched into action. Natasha slipped back into her seat and fastened her seatbelt, before grabbing the radio and informing headquarters that they were on their way back.

They made the drive in silence, and it was only once they reached the base that Natasha looked back again to the others. Odin was relaxed and sitting calmly in the back, humming an unfamiliar tune to himself. Thor was fast asleep with his head on Loki's shoulder and a touch of drool gleaming at the corner of his mouth. Loki looked the epitome of discomfort, his hand still gripping the door handle so hard his knuckles were white, and his face looked sickly and green.

She released their fastenings with two easy clicks and Loki slipped out the next moment to get some air. Thor fell over into the space he had vacated and woke abruptly. They all slipped silently out their individual doors, with the exception of a few grumbles from Thor, before gathering outside of the vehicle to wait for the others.

* * *

Agent Hill arrived within the next minute with Sif and the Warriors Three, and they gathered together in one of the larger interrogation rooms in the facility to talk. Odin took the solitary seat at the center of the room, and Loki stood stoically at his side. Sif and the Warriors Three leaned against the wall at his back, and Thor paced the space in between them with an irate expression.

Natasha did not stay to hear the explanation, knowing she would be briefed along with the other Avengers later. She ducked out of the door and into the hallway, nearly running straight into the chest of her partner.

Clint Barton caught her shoulders, and when she realized who it was she shrugged out from under his hands. ''Did you secure Banner?''

Clint nodded, his eyes scanning her face. ''I heard we have guests.''

''From another world, just like our ice friends,'' she remarked. ''Not the same world I'm guessing, since they're at war. They're claiming to be gods, like the ones from Norse mythology.''

''Like what? Like Thor?'' he asked, incredulous.

She put her finger on her nose, meaning he was right. His eyebrows rose, and he shook his head. ''You should see them. They fit the part. I suppose the myths had to have some element of truth.''

He gave her a look as if she were speaking a foreign tongue. ''You would just readily accept that? That the myths are true?''

She crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulder. ''If that turns out to be the God of Thunder sitting in that room, I don't really have a choice.''

''If they are real, what about all the others myths? Like Santa Claus? And the boogeyman?'' When she shrugged again, he let out an exasperated sigh. ''You have to admit, it would be scary if the boogeyman was real.''

She knew he was jesting, but her face grew solemn. ''I've seen worse.''

His face fell slightly. ''I know, Nat.''

When there were no more words to pass between them, they went together to the debriefing room, where the others were gathered and waiting.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

''Well, if it isn't my favorite little spy,'' Tony Stark greeted when Natasha and Clint entered the debriefing room. He approached them with open arms, his fingers twitching to usher Natasha forward and into his embrace.

''You flatter me,'' Clint gasped, clutching his hand to his chest and stepping to intersect Tony's hug.

Tony's smile faded instantly into a grimace, and he placed his hands on Clint's shoulders to move him aside. His smile returned instantly when Natasha slipped her arms around him, and when she moved away he kept a gentle grip on her arms.

''It feels like it's been forever since I last saw you. You know, when you spied on me and tried to manipulate me and all that jazz,'' he said, with a twitchy smile. Ignoring her responding glare, he continued. ''So how have you been?''

''The same as always,'' she said blankly. ''How is Pepper?''

Tony released her and made a quick, careless gesture in the air with his hand. ''With her mother. Apparently I'm arrogant and insensitive and infuriating and blah blah blah,'' he said with dramatic a roll of his eyes.

''Finally came to her senses, did she?'' Natasha asked, her eyebrow rising slightly in surprise.

''She'll come around,'' he responded flippantly.

Natasha left Tony to greet the others. She had never met Bruce Banner or Steve Rogers, though she knew more than they probably would have liked her to about them. S.H.I.E.L.D. kept limited files on each of them, but Natasha was more than qualified to do her own digging.

They both shook her hand shyly, though she suspected for different reasons. She could tell by the nervous twitching of his face that Bruce suffered from social anxiety, and Steve's blushing meant that he was not blind to her beauty.

When everyone was acquainted, they settled into an uncomfortable silence as they waited for Director Fury to finish with the Asgardians and debrief them.

* * *

The blank stares that met Nick Fury at the end of his explanation made him question if the assembled heroes had even really heard him. He had to admit that the truth had him reeling as well, but it was undeniable. The shocked silence lasted for a few minutes before anyone spoke.

''What's the plan?'' Bruce asked finally.

Director Fury crossed his arms over his chest, and his head hung for a few moments. After some time passed he looked up to them again, and his face was drawn and grave. ''We go to war.''

''Let me get this straight,'' Clint said slowly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. ''Apparently, gods and giants and whatever are real, and you want us to stick our noses in a war between them? You do remember that we are human, right?''

He glanced at Bruce, and then to Natasha, and then to Steve, before his eyes settled back on Director Fury. ''Well, mostly.''

They all sent him responding glares. ''I think what Agent Barton meant was...'' Steve explained wearily. ''Is it really our place to get involved?''

Before Director Fury could answer, Tony stood up.

''They brought this war to Earth, for the second time. It's obvious that they have no respect for the people here, and consider us the smallest threat in all of the nine realms,'' Tony said. He waved his hand toward Director Fury. ''Stop me if I'm wrong, Director, but what I have taken from this is that you want us to establish ourselves as a dominant player by waving our little band of heroes in their faces to show them what we are _really_ capable of.''

There was a long silence when Tony was finished, as the others adjusted themselves to this new insight.

''To avoid something like this happening again, we need to be feared,'' Director Fury confirmed.

''Is it really smart to expose ourselves like that?'' Natasha asked. ''Look at what is happening now. It obviously doesn't matter how powerful you are, someone will still come to oppose you. Maybe some day the Frost Giants or the Asgardians or someone from the other realms will come for us. Wouldn't it be a better play to hide our strengths?''

''We have to survive this first,'' Bruce said with a shrug. ''I don't think hiding is an option anymore.''

''Not now, not that he's rented us out,'' Clint added, anger edging his words.

''What if they turn on us after we help them?'' Steve asked, one of his eyebrows raised slightly. ''Agent Romanoff brought up a valid point. The Asgardians will see how strong we are when we are fighting at their side. They could easily turn on us after we defeat the Frost Giants and eliminate whatever potential threat we could become in the future.''

''What do you suggest we do then?'' Director Fury demanded, his face twisted in displeasure at their opposition. ''Put the fate of our world in their hands? They don't give a fuck what happens to us. We might as well have people who do care have their input in this war. We can worry about the consequences later.''

No one else spoke up, and Director Fury's agitation calmed. ''You have all been given temporary living quarters here for the night, as have the Asgardians. Get something to eat, and then get some rest. In the morning they will send for their army, and then we go to war.''

* * *

The Avengers all went to the cafeteria together, and were surprised to find the Asgardians were there as well. The room was clear of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Natasha wondered if that was due to Director Fury or if they had cleared out on their own in fear. She suppressed a frown when the thought occurred to her, that maybe she should fear them.

All of the Asgardians crowded around one table, as they probably did at home. The table was piled high with trays of the different foods the cafeteria offered, and most were already empty. After Natasha had gotten her food, she hesitated to find a seat, wanting an excuse to observe the gods further.

Odin ate heartily, but with an elegance that the others lacked. He did not join the youths in their jests, but watched over them with a silent authority. Thor and the Warriors Three lacked his class, shoveling food into their mouths and talking through it without hesitations. Sif commented often about their lack of proper etiquette, though she ate like a bird herself.

Natasha's eyes fell last to Loki, who ate slowly and meticulously. It was only as she watched him that she realized he sat slightly away from the others, a dark presence at the end of their table like a shadow. He was nearest to Thor, but not only were there two seats between them but his body was inclined away as well.

''Should we mingle?'' Steve asked her. Her lips pressed into a tight line, embarrassed that he had noticed her observations though she knew only a few seconds had passed.

''We're not here to make friends,'' she said sharply, moving away from him and finding a seat near the cafeteria doors. As she set down her tray she felt eyes on her, and she was surprised to find they belonged to Loki. She wondered if he had heard her, but when he looked away apathetically she dismissed the thought.

Clint sat down in front of her, and the others slowly dribbled over as well. They sat in silence together as they finished their food, drowning out the conversation that the Asgardians were practically shouting to each other across their table.

It was only when the Avengers got up to put their dirty trays away and leave for their quarters that Natasha realized the conversation had turned to her. The warrior she had defeated, Fandral, was red in the face and glaring daggers at her across the room.

''It was a dirty trick,'' he was mumbling over the laughter of the others. ''If that is her skill, we have no need of it. We already have a silver tongue among us, and that is one too many.'' He drew his glass of water to his lips, but it never made it intact.

The shot rang out and the room fell dead silent, except for the soft trickle of water falling from the table to the tiled floor. Natasha gazed over the barrel of her gun for only a moment before slipping it back into its holster at her waist. ''That is not my only skill,'' she said lowly, before turning on her heel and disappearing into the hallway.

Everyone left in the room gaped after her, and Fandral looked like he was going to be sick. He discarded the last few remainging shards of his glass to the table, and looked down to the food in front of him that had been ruined by the water.

They finished their meals in silence, the only sound breaking through from the hallway. Director Fury was reprimanding Natasha for discharging her weapon at the Asgardian and explaining that she would have to spend the rest of the night locked away from the others. She did not protest.

The others dispersed into their quarters a short while later, and sank into the cool comfort of their provided beds. Their end of the facility shut down and the rooms went dark, with only the hallways in between still alight.

There were cameras in each room to keep an eye on the Asgardians, but the Midgardian technology failed to register the one bed besides Natasha's that remained empty that night.

The mischief maker wasted only the slightest flicker of his gaze back to his projection on the bed, before he slipped out the door of his room and disappeared completely.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha lay flat on the cold metal bench in the holding cell, knowing the feel of it on her back all too well. Her hands were clasped tightly together, and they rested on the peaks of her ribcage that pressed against the tight flesh of her stomach. The leg nearest to the wall was pulled up so that her knee was in the air and the sole of her boot rested on the end of the bench. The other knee folded over the edge, and her boot lightly brushed the floor.

She stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind not confined to the room as her body.

She heard just the slightest scuff of a shoe against the concrete outside of her cell, and she turned her head slowly to greet her visitor. At first her eyes registered nothing, but when the air shifted and a figure slowly materialized from the air, they widened in surprise.

''I hope I did not wake you,'' Loki breathed the apology, though his face did not show remorse. Natasha realized it was the first time she had heard him speak, besides when he had spat at her in the car. His voice was deep, but it had a strange character about it, a slickness that she did not trust.

She sat up slowly on the bench, resting her hands on either side of her thighs and gripping the cold metal. She did not say anything, just watched him through weary eyes.

''You have quite an impressive skill set,'' he commented offhandedly, leaning back against the wall across from her cell.

''Is that why you are here?'' she asked. ''To talk to me about my skill set?''

Loki did not answer her, and instead pushed off from the wall and fingered the bars of her cell. ''This seems a harsh punishment for something so trivial. Even if your bullet had struck Fandral, it would not have ailed him for long.''

''You're immortal,'' she surmised.

He shrugged. ''I do not know that for certain.'' The words were clipped, and Natasha waited for Loki to explain further. He did not, and instead his eyes slowly caressed the metals bars before he turned to her again.

His eyes flitted over her. ''You do not seem troubled by your situation.''

It was her turn to shrug. ''It would not be the first time I've seen the world from inside of a cage.''

He raised an eyebrow slightly, the first time she saw genuine curiosity on his expression.

''You're the one with the silver tongue,'' she stated suddenly, and she saw the aforementioned muscle twist behind his gritted teeth. ''The God of Mischief.''

''That is one of my names,'' Loki admitted dryly.

''What can you do? Thor was boasting in the cafeteria about his strength and his hammer-''

''Mjolnir,'' Loki corrected her. ''It is called Mjolnir.''

''Mjolnir,'' she repeated lowly, but she did not relent to change the subject. ''What is your skill set?''

His responding smirk was wide and showed his teeth. It was almost feral in its suddenness, and it made a tremor run through her. He opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again when he heard a set of footsteps make their way toward Natasha's holding cell.

''What the hell-?''

It was Clint. He drew his bow slowly, his expression weary as he approached. Loki's eyes flickered to the weapon for only a moment before he raised his eyes to Clint's, and his face was empty of even the slightest hint of concern.

''What are you doing here?'' Clint demanded.

''I thought it best to get acquainted with Agent Romanoff when she did not have a weapon on her person,'' Loki quipped, and Natasha raised an eyebrow. She did not expect the God of Mischief to have a sense of humor, or at least not one that wasn't entirely wicked.

''Are you okay, Nat?'' Clint asked her, giving Loki his back as he approached the cell.

She nodded sharply, her annoyance bubbling beneath her skin.

Loki looked between the two, and his lips pressed into a hard line. ''I will return to my room now,'' Loki said, excusing himself. It was obvious from Clint's expression that he cared for Natasha, and Loki did not wish to be witness to their mortal affections. ''Good night, Agent Romanoff.''

With that, Loki disappeared. Clint lurched back in surprise, his face twisted in confusion and the last traces of his anger. After a moment of recovery he turned to Natasha, his features still slightly contorted.

''Why were you talking to him?'' Clint hissed. His expression softened in an instant, as a thought dawned on him. ''Director Fury. He must have told you to play nice and get information on them. Did you find out anything?''

Natasha frowned at him. ''I do not have an assignment from Director Fury.''

Clint's anger returned full force. ''Then why did you talk to him? You should have called for the guards!''

''I can handle myself,'' Natasha said, a warning in her voice at his implications.

He did not say anything to that, and instead a growl of frustration escaped his throat. ''I don't trust any of them, but especially not him. There's something different about him, something bad.''

Natasha only shrugged her shoulder. ''Our orders are to fight at their sides against the Frost Giants. It's not our place to get involved in their affairs, or to speculate about them.''

''It's not as simple as that,'' Clint persisted.

''It is as simple as that,'' Natasha said, her tone dismissive. ''Go back to your room, Clint.''

He crossed his arms stubbornly, and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

''Go,'' she said, and there was a harshness to her tone that made him flinch. Her expression softened slightly. ''We have a war to fight tomorrow. We all need to be rested. I'll see you in the morning.''

After a few moments Clint relented, and he disappeared down the hallway and out of view. Natasha returned to the bench and laid down, resting on her side facing the wall with her back to the bars.

She heard the slightest scuff of a shoe on the concrete again, but when she turned to look there was no one there.

Her eyes hung heavy, and she let them flutter shut. Sleep enveloped her immediately.

* * *

''Turn it back!''

All of the Avengers and the Asgardians were gathered in the debriefing room to discuss their plan of action. Director Fury, Steve, Odin, and Thor had met earlier to strategize, and now everyone was making their way there from their rooms to prepare for battle.

Clint was the last to join them, and his cry silenced the room. He stomped over to Loki, a black sack in his hands, and he threw it to the ground at the god's feet. Loki's eyes flitted to the bag and back up again, his expression unchanged.

Beside him, Thor leaned down and pulled the string on the bag. He lurched back with a surprised cry when a snake slithered from its depths.

''Turn it back,'' Clint growled, stretching his body up to place his face an inch from Loki's.

''I do not know what you mean,'' Loki drawled, his face a poster for innocence. Natasha frowned slightly, watching the scene from across the room, seeing through his mask as if it were made of glass.

''You damn well know!'' Clint yelled. ''You turned my bow into a snake!''

Someone in the room snorted, and Natasha would put her money on Tony.

''I assure you, I did no such thing,'' Loki replied sincerely. ''Though I would offer my help to resolve your problem.''

''Admit it, you-!'' Clint snarled, pressing closer to Loki. Loki leaned back just as Thor reached forward and grabbed Clint's collar to restrain him. Fear flashed in Clint's eyes.

''My brother gave you his word,'' Thor rumbled. ''You will not question it.''

Clint remained frozen for a few seconds, before ripping away from Thor and backing off.

Natasha watched as Loki knelt down and held his hand out toward the snake. It did not hesitate to go to him and wrap itself around his arm. She watched him carefully, and was surprised to see just the slightest hint of tenderness in his eyes as he looked upon the snake.

When he rose back to his feet it was returned to its original form, to Clint's bow. He set it down on one of the chairs, and went to his father when Odin called for him.

Thor followed at his heel, and Natasha's eyebrows raised when Odin grabbed Loki's arm in a grip of steel and gave him a violent shake. The other Avengers were looking after Clint, and they missed the exchange between the Asgardians.

Loki winced when Odin's hand tightened further, and she barely caught the sharp words that Odin spoke to his mischievous son. ''You will do no further to antagonize our allies, Loki. Your tricks are unwanted as always. If you do so again, you will be punished.''

Loki looked like a child then, in the face of his father's reprimand. With an exasperated huff, Odin released Loki and turned away. Loki's eyes watched him sadly, regret etched on his expression.

It took him a moment to realize he was being watched, and his eyes were quick to find Natasha's. He turned away in embarrassment, his jaw tense, and he went to find his seat.

Director Fury cleared his throat, and everyone was quick to sit and get down to business.

It was a time of war, after all. There was no more time for tricks.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha held her breath as the sky opened up, and a burst of light flooded the sky.

The Asgardian warriors came in large groups, crowding the New Mexican desert. The light died in between each transport, and the Avengers watched in awe the sky rumble and calm as if controlled by a light switch.

Odin had explained that if the gateway were left open, the power of the Bifrost would destroy Earth, and that is why their army could not all come at once. It was a frightening concept, that the fate of every realm was in the hands of only one man, named Heimdall.

When the last of the army joined them, they split into two teams. The first group consisted mostly of the army. They planned to rush the Frost Giants from all sides and strike with blunt force. They would force them back towards the heart of their infestation, providing a much more condensed area for battle.

Bruce would join them as Hulk, along with Tony as Iron Man and Steve as Captain America. Thor and the Warriors Three would lead their section of the army from the North, Odin from the South, Bruce from the West, and Tony and Steve from the East.

The second team consisted of very few individuals. Natasha, Clint, Loki, and Sif would take a more tactical approach to the battle. By avoiding the outskirts and aiming for the heart of their enemy, they hoped to steal back the power source of the Frost Giants, the Casket of Ancient Winters. It was an optimistic goal for a team full of realists.

Their true target was Laufey, the leader of the Frost Giants. It was often found in history that a people during a time of war cannot function without proper direction. It would be like a chicken running around without its head. The Frost Giants would keep going for a while, keep fighting, but eventually they would fall and give out completely.

Director Fury and Agent Coulson were both on standby back at headquarters. The four all had earpieces in so they could communicate back and forth, but it had been a struggle to explain the device to Loki and Sif. For such an advanced society, Asgard lacked Earth's superior technology.

They would wait for the distraction of the main attack to make their move, though it would be several days before any of the first team would reach their destinations and attack.

Clint was skeptical of their plan of action, since a lot of it relied on Loki and his abilities. When it was first decided that Loki would teleport them as close to the heart as he safely could, Clint worried that maybe not all of his body would make the transfer. Natasha pointed out that he'd seen too many sci-fi movies, but he did not relent. It was only when Loki threatened to leave him behind entirely that he agreed.

* * *

The first few days would be mainly surveillance, setting eyes on either the Casket of Ancient Winters or Laufey. Since they would not make their move until the bulk of the Frost Giants were distracted by the others, this gave them several days to get a feel for the environment and prepare.

Natasha and Clint said their goodbyes to the others and Loki transported them all away. The next moment they were surrounded by a world of blue and ice, and the cold assaulted them instantly. Loki and Sif were less affected than Clint and Natasha, and the latter two began trembling violently.

''Let's get moving,'' Clint demanded, his voice a whisper. ''Before my toes turn into popsicles.''

''Popsicles?'' Sif breathed.

Clint just waved an exasperated hand to dismiss the question. It seemed every time he opened his mouth there was something he needed to explain, there was such a large gap between the two people.

Loki pressed forward, with Natasha right on his heel with her weapon drawn. From what she could make out, they were in a parking garage of one of the casinos in Las Vegas. She was weary in the open space, as were the others, and they made slow progress across the lot, knowing there could be Frost Giants lurking at any corner.

When it appeared the floor was clear, Natasha peered over the railing and into the open street below. There were hoards of Frost Giants making their way through the streets, spanning out in each direction toward the edges of their infestation. She was sure they were aware of the Asgardians on Earth, and were preparing themselves for the battle that was sure to come as well.

They had spread the furthest to the North, through Canada and nearly to Alaska, which meant their mission was by no means a short one. It would take Odin and Bruce and Tony and Steve and their armies days to reach their points of attack, and Thor even longer. They would likely be stuck in the heart of Frost Giant territory for a week before it was safe enough to make a move, and the thought made Natasha's tongue turn sourly in her mouth.

Natasha was a good spy. She knew Loki stood two feet to her left and back, and Clint and Sif were off to her right at least ten feet away. So when she heard just the slightly crush of ice and snow, like velvet twisted between fingers, fifteen feet directly at her back, she knew they had company.

She spun, drawing a blade from her hip and she did and launching it straight at the Frost Giant. She heard the familiar schlick as the knife sunk home, but when three sounded right after she saw Loki had turned and drawn as well.

The Frost Giant collapsed noisily, cracking and gasping and bleeding on the floor. Natasha and Loki shared a glance before they walked together to the fallen Frost Giant and retrieved their blades.

Natasha glanced back to see both Clint and Sif sheath their weapons.

''Someone will have heard that,'' Natasha said. ''We need to move.'' Clint nodded sharply, and the Asgardians followed silently as they ghosted across the parking garage towards the stairwell.

Just as they were about to reach it, a Frost Giant appeared on the stairs from one of the lower levels. Natasha was a distance ahead of the others, and she waved them back as she ducked behind a pillar and out of view of the Frost Giant.

They watched her from behind one of the parked cars in the lot, they expressions varying levels of concern. She ignored them, training her ears for the Frost Giant's movement.

She turned her body slightly, watching as he slowly passed her pillar and put his back to her.

She made her move then, pushing off from the wall and launching herself onto the Frost Giant's back. Before he could make a sound, she grasped the sides of his face and twisted his neck.

She stiffled a cry as she felt the palms of her hands and her fingertips burning, and she twirled her body around. The movement rolled the Frost Giant's limp body onto the ground, with only the softest of thuds.

She knelt on the ground, staring at her blackened hands for a long moment. The pain still lingered, and when she gingerly touched her fingertips together the pain made her bite her tongue. The others gathered slowly around her, and she quickly suppressed the pain and rose to her feet.

''Don't touch their skin,'' she said simply, and they continued on their journey.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I thought this was a good place to stop. As always, there will be another update soon, so hopefully that will make up for it. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha, Clint, Loki, and Sif made it out of the parking garage without further confrontations. There had been other Frost Giants, but they had managed to get by without drawing their attentions. The amount of Frost Giants around meant that Loki had managed to transport them pretty close to Laufey's location.

They escaped into a back alley from the parking garage, and moved in the opposite direction the Frost Giants had been travelling when they had seen them earlier, hoping it would lead them to Laufey.

The sky was growing dark, and when Loki noticed that Natasha and Clint were both trembling so violently they could no longer speak, he suggested they find a place to settle for the night. Sif remarked that if the two humans had not come along, they would be able to continue their journey, but a look of warning from Natasha made her hold her tongue from speaking further.

They found a door to the boiler room of the building they edged as they progressed further down the alley. The burns on Natasha's hands made it painful to hold the tools, but she made quick work of picking the lock. They escaped inside the room and locked the door behind them. They found a few heavy crates stacked at the side of the room, and moved those in front of the door as a barricade.

The room was small, but would still fit the four of them comfortably. The air in the room still fogged as they breathed, and Clint set to starting up a fire. Natasha found a vent on the wall beside the door, and opened the flaps to allow air inside so that the fire would not consume all of the oxygen in the room.

Clint and Sif discarded the sacks they held with their supplies, and the four of them settled down beside the fire, with one at each side. Natasha went to warm her hands, but the heat made the burns on them sting. She hissed and pulled them away.

Sif reached for her bag and shuffled through the contents. She pulled out a jar, and slid it across the cold concrete floor to Natasha. ''The Allfather sent this with me. I understand now why he did.''

''Here, I'll help you,'' Clint said, picking up the jar and opening the lid. He sniffed the earthy green substance inside and gagged, before setting it back down beside Natasha. ''That's disgusting. You're on your own.''

Natasha shot a glare at him, and she winced as she lifted up the jar to apply it herself. But before she could begin, slender fingers gripped her wrist and took the jar from her hand.

Natasha's eyebrows raised in surprise as Loki shifted closer to her, keeping his hand on her wrist as he did. He did not say anything as the thumb of his free hand dipped into the balm, and he pressed it to the center of her palm.

She tensed for the pain but it did not come, and she gradually relaxed as Loki's thumb massaged the balm into her skin. He did not speak, his expression remaining cool and composed. His eyes were hooded slightly, as if narrowed in concentration, but his face was calm and relaxed.

When he finished with her palm, his thumb gently made its way up to each fingertip in turn. When he finished with the first hand, he released her wrist and took the other roughly. If he were a doctor she would say he lacked a bedside manner, but she was grateful for his help nonetheless.

When he finished, Sif returned the jar to her bag again and Loki moved away.

''Loki,'' she said, and his eyes flickered from the fire to her. ''Thank you.''

He did not say anything, just returned his gaze to the flames.

* * *

With the vent open, the room was still cold. They laid down in their spots beside the fire and clung to the little bit of warmth it provided, hoping for sleep. Natasha thought she could see tremors running through Clint next to her, but she feared it was her own body convulsing from the cold.

''I cannot sleep with all of that chattering,'' Sif growled from across the fire, and it was only then that Natasha realized her teeth were clicking together. She tensed her jaw, succeeding mostly in suppressing the noise, but still a few clicks prevailed. She closed her eyes shut and begged for sleep, if only to escape inside of her head from the cold.

She thought of the winters in Russia, the worst in the world, that did not even compare to this. She thought then to the summers, hoping memories of the sun burning her skin would chase away the cold, but it only made it more bitter.

She jumped when something heavy landed on top of her, and she sat up on her elbows to see Loki standing above her. He had shed his outer coat, and she fingered the thick leather covering her body.

Before she could open her mouth to ask, he answered her. ''Sif is not the only one you are keeping from sleep,'' he said to her, his voice sharp. There were deep circles under his eyes, and his expression was drawn slightly in annoyance.

''Aren't you cold?'' she asked him, her eyebrows raising.

Loki hesitated, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. ''It does not bother me,'' he said after a moment, but the words sounded more like a question than a statement.

''That is concerning,'' she said carefully.

''Yes,'' he said lowly, his voice barely even a whisper. He disappeared from above her, and resumed his place by the fire. She pulled the heavy leather around herself and curled into its warmth. She ducked her nose beneath the collar, and was surprised by the scent that lingered there. It was faint, like distant rain, and she found it soothing.

Sleep took them all in its gentle grasp, and got them through the worst of the night.

* * *

A loud crash woke them a few hours later, as the crates burst and broke on the floor beside them when they were pushed away from the door. The four of them leapt to their feet, and drew their weapons in the face of the group of Frost Giants that were gathered in the doorway. The fire had gone out, and the smoke had escaped through the vent and alerted the Frost Giants to their presence.

Loki was swift with a swing of his scepter, sending them back and out the door. They escaped into the alley, and made quick of the Frost Giants so that they would not be discovered further.

Natasha dared a peek out of the alley, to find the streets bursting with life. She ghosted back to where the others were waiting for her, her face grim.

''I don't think we'll make it there on the ground,'' she said to them. ''There are too many of them around.''

''Roof hopping?'' Clint suggested with a raised brow.

She shook her head. ''Too much exposure.''

''Then do tell how else you expect us to travel,'' Sif sneered.

''Underground,'' she replied lowly, her eyes narrowing. She spotted one of the large, heavy metal lids flush with the concrete floor of the alley, and carefully removed it. She slowly lowered herself inside, and then dropped down completely. The air was still crisp and she could not see, but the walls were free of ice and it appeared to lead straight through where they had originally been headed.

The others followed hesitantly, with Clint dropping down first, then Sif, and then Loki.

Clint sighed his relief. ''I thought this was a sewage tunnel,'' he said. He fingered the long, thick wires that covered the walls and the ceilings. ''It's just a service tunnel.''

''We couldn't have the Asgardians see us humans walking in our own filth,'' she muttered to him lowly.

''They might think less of us,'' Clint added, completing her thought, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He let out a small snort, which drew the attention of the others. Natasha moved innocently away, and held her hand out to Clint for one of the flashlights he was pulling from his sack.

He handed one to her and to Loki, who would lead the way, and he and Sif walked at their backs. The further they went, the colder the air in the tunnel grew. It was obvious they were getting closer, and they steeled themselves for what was to come next.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

''I'm starving,'' Clint grumbled after a few hours of walking the tunnel. So far they had not come across any Frost Giants, but Natasha was sure they would the closer they got to Laufey. ''We should stop and eat.''

Sif stopped shortly, and when she turned to face Clint the tension in her body was visible. ''You jest, human?''

''Are we slowing you down?'' Clint asked, his brow furrowing in annoyance.

''Perhaps it would be best if we separated from here,'' Sif suggested bluntly. ''Loki and I will continue on without further delay.''

''This is a job for spies, which you two are not,'' Natasha stated blankly. ''We have plenty of time to reach Laufey and the Casket. It is not a job to be rushed.''

Sif's jaw tensed, but she remained silent. Loki's lips pressed into a hard line, but he too held his tongue.

''What she means is,'' Clint stated, his voice mocking. ''If you go ahead of us, you're going to screw up and probably die. And then we'll come in behind you and complete the mission correctly.''

''That was understood,'' Loki replied sharply. He looked to Natasha, and bowed his head slightly. ''We shall stay with you.''

Sif sighed heavily, but did not argue further. She sat down on the concrete and pulled open her sack. Clint sat down across from her, and Natasha set up her flashlight a few feet away to cast light over them all before joining him.

Loki sat down beside Sif, and ignored the look of displeasure she shot him at his proximity.

''I am sorry that it is not your precious Thor that sits beside you,'' he muttered lowly.

''His company is much more pleasant,'' she hissed.

''Your hatred makes you ugly,'' he said to her.

She turned on him, and Natasha and Clint raised their eyebrows in surprise. They could not hear the words spoken, but the air between the two Asgardians was clearly hostile.

''_You_ made me ugly,'' she snarled.

Loki said nothing, just turned his face away.

''We put up with you and your tricks only because you are brother to Thor,'' she said. ''Thor is soft. Too soft. If you were my brother, I would have rid Asgard of you long ago. We would be better off.''

''What would Thor think of you if he could hear you now?'' Loki asked.

''Do you need him here to fight your battles for you?'' she taunted.

Loki held her gaze for a long moment, his jaw tense and angry, before averting his eyes to the floor.

Clint cleared his throat in an attempt to break the tension. He opened his bag and tossed a foil packet to Natasha. Sif frowned as pulled out the same foil packets from her own sack. ''What is this?'' she asked, turning it over in her hands.

''Military rations,'' Natasha answered, but offered no further explanation. They all pulled open the packets and started eating, albeit the Asgardians hesitantly. Natasha and Clint were used to the food, as it was what they ate often on their missions.

''We should probably have someone on guard,'' Clint said, speaking around a mouthful of food.

Sif's lip twisted in response to his lack of manners, but before she could remark, Loki spoke. ''That is not necessary.''

Natasha and Clint jumped when two projections of Loki appeared at either side of them, standing with their backs to the group and their faces to the open spaces. Natasha set down her rations and slowly stood up, approaching one of the projections with caution. Clint grabbed her wrist to stop her, but she twisted it easily free.

Loki did not even glance up from his food, but had his projection turn to face her. It was only when he felt a ripple in the magic that he looked up, to see her fingers probing the magic out of curiosity. The projection trembled and shimmered with her touch, and he was surprised how tenderly her hands ghosted over it. He did not know she was capable of such softness.

There was a youthfulness to her face as her eyes flitted over it, and he found his eyes frozen on her expression. She looked almost like a child, and it was so foreign on her features that he wondered if she had ever really been one.

He felt eyes on him, and he looked to see Clint glaring at him from the opposite wall of the tunnel. He held the human's gaze evenly and without expression, and eventually Clint faltered and looked away with a grimace.

''Natasha,'' Clint barked, and Loki looked back to her face just in time to see that small glimmer of youth fade as she turned away from his magic and disappear behind a mask of nothingness. His eyebrow twitched slightly in surprise at the transition, but it seemed to have little to no effect on her, as if it were a common thing.

She went back to sit beside Clint and finish her rations. ''Do other Asgardians have magic like yours?'' she asked suddenly, and Loki raised his eyebrow.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Sif beat him to it. ''They do not. Fortunately.''

Loki's mouth closed slowly, and he did not explain further. Natasha raised an eyebrow, surprised at Sif's disregard for Loki. Clint nodded his agreement, but did not add anything verbally, still busy stuffing his mouth with rations.

* * *

Loki stood suddenly, drawing everyone's immediate attention, and raised his scepter just in time to strike the hand of a Frost Giant to the floor as it appeared out of the darkness ahead of them. His projections had alerted him to the Frost Giant's presence, but now that they were not necessary he willed them to disappear.

The hand shattered against the concrete floor, but the other swung around and knocked Loki off of his feet. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch, and crumpled to the floor.

Natasha rolled along the ground and past the creature, before landing a roundhouse kick to its back. It stumbled forward, trying to gain its footing, but it was already too late. She watched as the tip of an arrow appeared out of the back of his head, and as one of the tips of Sif's duel-bladed sword protruded from his back opposite his heart right after.

The Frost Giant shattered as it hit the floor, and Natasha looked to Loki, who sat up slowly and leaned against the wall. His hand was gripping his shoulder, and his teeth were gritted tightly together.

Natasha approached slowly, and he hissed when she touched his shoulder. ''It's dislocated,'' she observed aloud.

''You need to set it,'' Sif told her. ''And fast. His shoulder will heal like that.''

Natasha raised her eyebrows, but gripped Loki's shoulder. He eyed her intensely, his gaze full of distrust, but he remained still and silent in her hands. She jerked his shoulder roughly, in one quick movement, and she heard the signature pop as his shoulder returned to its proper place.

She looked up to Loki's face, surprised that he had remained silent through the pain. She had dislocated her shoulder many times, and even she had not been able to refrain from screaming.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored, and there was the slightest sheen of sweat on his forehead. He opened his eyes slowly to look at her, and she started to pull away.

When he felt her hands fall away, his gaze flickered down to them. He frowned and caught her wrist, and turned her hand over to look at her palm. ''You are healed?'' he asked her. She followed his eyes, and saw that the burns on her hands were completely gone.

She pulled her hand away quickly, and went back to stand by Clint.

''You are not human,'' he stated, getting slowly to his feet.

''We should head out,'' Natasha said, ignoring him, and he did not persist. She picked up her flashlight and waited for Sif and Clint to repack their sacks. When they were finished, she turned away and disappeared into the dark depths of the tunnel, and the others were quick to follow.

Little did they know, they were walking right into a trap.

* * *

Author's Note: I realize not a lot happened in this chapter, more character building than anything. But there will be a lot more plot progression in the next chapter to make up for it. Please continue reading, and review!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

They made their way through another ten Frost Giants before they braved going back to the surface. It was too dangerous to continue inside the tunnel and fight in the limited space. When they broke outside, they had to scramble and hide as a hoard of Frost Giants passed by them the next moment. When they were gone, Loki peered around the wall to get a look of the scene.

''Laufey,'' he said. ''He is there.''

Loki moved aside for them to see, and Natasha'a breath caught in her throat.

Laufey was perched on the spinx at the front of the Luxor, using it like a makeshift throne, with the front legs as his armrests and the head of it looming right above his own. It surprised Natasha that he was so out in the open, and this arrogance alarmed her. There were no other Frost Giants to be seen, no one to defend him were he to be attacked.

Something in front of the spinx caught her eye, and she stopped breathing altogether.

''What is it Nat?'' Clint asked her.

''The Casket,'' she said. They had been told of its appearance, of the glowing blue light and the storm rumbling within its confines. It appeared to be at the very base of the spinx, perched on a dais in front of Laufey like an invitation. But there was something off about it, something that didn't seem right.

''Yeah,'' Clint said, flashing a smile. ''Two birds with one stone.''

''It's a decoy,'' Natasha stated. She looked back at Loki, and Clint followed her gaze. It took him a moment to make the connection, and his eyes widened in shock.

''Are you-?'' Clint started, but Sif cut him off.

''Be careful of your words,'' she said, surprising them all by coming to Loki's defense. ''The implications you are about to make have grave consequences.''

''But the magic-'' he stumbled.

''The magic is similar. It does not mean that it is the same. Magic is prevalent in all of the realms,'' Sif sneered. ''Your words could start a war between our people. To imply that the house of Odin was dirtied with the presence of a Frost Giant would be the most gravest of insults.''

They were all silent for a long moment. When it passed, Clint turned away with a shrug of indifference, but Natasha continued to hesitate. Loki was looking to the floor, his face void of emotion, but his eyebrow was twisted slightly as if he were deep in thought. Natasha forced her gaze away to give him the space he needed, but her own thoughts were by no means calmed.

* * *

They entered the building across from the Luxor, and found a room with a window where they could observe Laufey and the fake Casket. They would camp there until they got the word from Director Fury to make their move.

Natasha was watching out the window, so focused that she did not feel Loki's eyes on her.

In truth, they had not left her since they had first entered the building. The place had been filled with humans when the Frost Giants first came, and now they were all dead and frozen in place.

Loki nor Sif cared for the mortals, but he saw Clint's expression fall slightly as he gazed out over all of the people. He thought when he looked to Natasha, he would see the same sadness for the fallen, but her face was completely void of emotion. It did not seem to be a mask or a defense mechanism, but pure apathy.

It had sent a tremor through him, of fear or surprise or disgust he did not know. Now as he gazed at her in the room, his expression was only blatantly curious. What had happened to this woman, that she did not care at all for her own people?

It fed his suspicion that she was not human, or not entirely human.

An especially loud crackle from the fire that Clint had started made Natasha turn from the window.

They had found a room with a fireplace, and she moved toward it to warm herself. Loki allowed his eyes to release her, and slowly laid back on the bed. The coverlet crackled slightly beneath him, which meant the ice was finally starting to melt. They would be able to dry the blankets by the fire and use them for the night.

''If that is not the Casket,'' Clint started suddenly. ''Then where is the real one?''

''The spinx is hollow,'' Natasha said. ''I would surmise that it's inside of it.''

''How do we get inside?'' Sif asked.

''Laufey is blocking the entrance,'' Natasha said, her lips drawn in a tight line.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day forming a plan of attack. By the time night fell, it was decided that Clint, Sif, and Loki would initially distract Laufey while Natasha slipped into the spinx. Loki would join her after, and the two would look for the Casket together. Since most of the Frost Giants appeared to be gone to fight, Clint and Sif would only have Laufey to deal with until the other two returned.

With the blankets dried, Natasha curled one around her shoulders and sat before the fire. Clint wrapped himself up and laid down on the floor next to her, falling asleep almost immediately. Sif laid on the other side of him, giving them her back.

When Natasha was sure Sif was asleep, she looked to Loki, who was sitting a few feet from herself. ''She does not like you, does she?''

Loki pressed his lips together, his eyes on the fire. After a few moments the tension in his lips relaxed, and a smile twitched at his lips. ''She resents me for events long passed.''

''What did you do to her?'' Natasha asked.

Loki looked away from the fire to her, frowning. ''I have no incentive to tell you.''

Natasha's eyes narrowed in response. ''I do not care enough to bargain.''

A sharp breath left Loki's lips, almost a laugh, and amusement laced his lips. ''My tale does not come with a hefty fee. Just some truth of your own.''

Natasha sighed. ''Alright.''

Loki licked his lips, and though it was an innocent gesture, a nervous one before he was to speak, it drew Natasha's attention to Loki's mouth. His lips were soft, elegantly peaked, and housed a tongue that was rumored to kill. It made her mind go to darker things, of places that she would want that tongue to venture.

Natasha looked away quickly, surprised at herself. Loki was watching her, his expression laced with confusion at whatever he had seen on her face. Instead of addressing it, he opened his mouth to answer her initial question.

''I was quite fond of Sif when I was younger, but she fancied another,'' Loki explained, with just the slightest bitterness edging his tone.

''Thor,'' Natasha surmised, and he nodded.

''She had this beautiful golden hair, the envy of every woman in Asgard. Together her and Thor were the epitome of perfection,'' Loki said. His eyes were far off as he spoke, and though he was looking at Natasha, she knew he was not seeing her. ''She was not fond of me even then, and often taunted me for my affections. She thought me weak, and my magic unwanted. I was no more relevant than Thor's own shadow. So I took my accursed magic and turned her golden hair as black as she claimed my soul to be.''

Loki's faced twitched into the barest smirk, and he was suddenly present again. ''She blames me for Thor's lost interest, but he has always been frivolous with the women in his bed.''

''You could change it back,'' Natasha stated. ''Maybe she would not despise you as much.''

Loki's lips pursed slightly, and his smile was almost condescending. ''But what would the lesson be in that?''

Natasha frowned, and her eyebrows furrowed together. ''Was it your lesson to teach?''

The amusement faded from Loki's face, and his jaw tensed slightly. Instead of letting the direction of their conversation continue further, he changed the subject. ''How can you heal as you do?''

Natasha shut down immediately. ''You said the price was not a hefty one.''

''I am not asking for your life, Agent Romanoff. Only a truth,'' he replied calmly. ''The Director Fury told us very little about you.''

''I am human.''

''You should not waste lies on a liar,'' he said, his face serious. ''The way you tricked Fandral into thinking you were harmless, it was apparent that part of your skill set lies in manipulation. I did not bother to lie to you, I would expect the same in return.''

''I did not lie,'' she persisted.

''But you are not telling the whole truth. Omission is its own kind of lie.''

She sighed, and looked back at the fire. ''I was originally from Russia. I was orphaned at a young age, and chosen by my government to take part in the Black Widow program. They altered us, changed us, controlled us. I am a science experiment.''

''Much like the man with stars and stripes?'' he asked her.

She looked at Loki, and there was a flicker of something in her eyes that he could not place. ''He volunteered. I did not.''

Loki said nothing, only pressed his lips into a hard line.

They sat in silence together for a long while, before Natasha laid down and went to sleep. Loki laid down soon after, but sleep evaded him. Instead he was plagued with thoughts of the Black Widow, of events long ago, and of the magic he saw today that was much too similar to comfort him.

It was all too soon when they heard a voice boom over their earpieces, and they all sat up with a jerk.

''Second team, it's time to make your move. Thor and the others made contact. The war has officially begun.''

* * *

Author's Note: Apparently I lied. I didn't mean to. But I promise some action in the next chapter. I just get so consumed in Natasha and Loki sometimes. I will update soon and make up for it. Please keep reading and review!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

They gave Natasha an hour to get into place. It was too dangerous for her to rush her progress toward the spinx, and they did not want her to draw the attention of Laufey or any other lingering Frost Giants. When the hour passed, Loki took the arms of Sif and Clint, and teleported them to the base of Laufey's makeshift throne.

Laufey did not immediately stir when they appeared before him, only gradually leaned forward and placed his elbow on his knee and his chin on his fist. His smile was malicious, condescending as he peered down at them. ''Odin must have grown more foolish with age, to send so few against me.''

''He only sent as many was necessary,'' Sif replied. Loki shot a warning glance at her, to cool the temper that rivaled Thor. She ignored him, and her hand tensed on her weapon when Laufey stood from his throne.

Behind him, Natasha ghosted over the leg of the spinx and dropped into the seat that Laufey had vacated. There was a small set of steps that led up to an open doorway, and Natasha quickly disappeared inside the chest of the spinx.

''I prepared for many more,'' Laufey laughed.

''There are three of us, and only one of you,'' Clint growled, starting to pull an arrow from the quiver at his back.

''You are mistaken,'' Laufey said, his red eyes wide in mock surprise. They narrowed the next moment, and he spread his arms out to either side of himself.

The ground beneath their feet shook, and the ice all around them began to crack. What they had mistaken as walls and towers and pillars of ice broke and shattered and revealed the Frost Giants within. They shielded themselves from falling ice that cut like glass shards, as Frost Giant after Frost Giant moved to surround them.

Clint's eyes were wide as he pressed the button on his earpiece. ''Nat, get out of there!''

His warning came much too late. The next moment, a hoard of Frost Giants burst out of the doorway at the chest of the spinx that Natasha had disappeared inside, and moved to stand at Laufey's back.

One of them tossed something through the air, and to their horror it was Natasha's limp body that rolled to a stop at their feet.

''Natasha!'' Clint screamed, dropping to his knees to grasp the broken woman.

''Leave her,'' Sif growled, grabbing the back of his collar and lifting him to his feet. ''We have more pressing concerns.''

* * *

''Let your spilled blood serve as warning to the next Asgardians that come to face me. I am not to be underestimated,'' Laufey snarled, and with the wave of his hand, the battle begun. He sat back in his throne as the other Frost Giants rushed forward and engaged them.

Sif was quick with her blade, taking out each Frost Giant in turn, but it was not long before she grew wearied by the numbers she faced. Clint tried to make it to a high place, but found himself grounded and limited. His arrows were running short, and he was having trouble recovering them and resorted to using his bow itself as a weapon.

Loki slashed his way towards Laufey with his scepter, often using his projections to throw off the Frost Giants. When his arms tired of swinging the blade, he resorted the throwing the knives he kept hidden at his waist. They took out two or three Frost Giants at a time, and made quick work of the ones that still stood in his way of Laufey.

When he reached the base of Laufey's throne, the Frost Giant returned to his feet. He was twice Loki's size, and Loki was wearied in the face of him.

''Who are you to stand before me?'' Laufey demanded angrily.

''I am Loki Odinson, God of Mischief and prince of Asgard,'' he stated, and though his voice wavered slightly his words held bite. ''I have come to end you.''

''You have come to die, son of Odin,'' Laufey spat, and ice formed over his hand as sharp as a blade and he raised it to strike.

Loki was quick with a knife, breaking the ice and splattering Jotun blood over the ground between them. Laufey cried in outrage and pain, before swinging his other hand down and knocking Loki to the ground along with it.

With the wind knocked from his lungs Loki was slow to his feet, and Laufey advanced on him quickly. He barely blocked a blow with the shaft of his scepter, but he caught the second with the blade itself and sent Laufey reeling back. They went back and forth for a long time, nearly evenly matched, but when Loki took one too many slashes across his chest it tilted the fight in Laufey's favor.

Loki struggled to his hands and knees, sweating and gasping and panting from the fight, and looked up to Laufey looming above him. The ice was gone from one of his hands when he took Loki's arm and pulled him to his feet, and the other was poised and ready to deliver the final blow.

The grip on Loki's arm broke through the armor, and the coldness of the ice burned through the fabric there as well. Loki braced himself for the pain, and Laufey waited for it as well, but both were surprised when it never came.

They both looked down to his arm, to see the skin turned blue beneath Laufey's fingers. Laufey pulled his hand away in surprise, and the blue faded from Loki's arm and returned to its normal color. Their eyes met for a long moment, before a voice boomed in Loki's ear and broke their shared moment.

''Thor and his army failed to stop the Frost Giants at the North border. Everyone pull back and return to base.''

Loki ducked and rolled away from Laufey's deadly blow, and teleported back to where Clint and Sif were still fighting. They had heard Director Fury as well, and they ran towards him.

A Frost Giant at Clint's back knocked him from behind, and sent him crashing into the two Asgardians. They tumbled to the ground, and Loki cursed as he hurried to grab onto both of them. The Frost Giants started closing in, and his eyes searched frantically for their fallen comrade. He found her laying a few feet away, just out of reach, her fire red hair striking in contrast to the paleness of the ice and the paleness of her skin.

Loki cursed again as he reached for her, stretched for her. The others gripped at his arm, and Sif yelled at him to leave her. The Frost Giants reached them just as his fingers wrapped around hers, and he willed them all away.

* * *

Sif and Clint broke from Loki right away, after they landed roughly on the ground in the middle of the control room at headquarters. Agent Coulson and Agent Hill jumped back in surprise, and Director Fury let out a Midgardian curse that Loki did not understand.

Loki leaned up on his arms and pulled Natasha up with him. Her body lay limply across his own, her face tucked against his chest, and when he moved his hand to cradle her head he was surprised to find it wet. He pulled his hand away and it was stained with blood, as bright and red as her hair.

Director Fury saw and lifted her from Loki's arms the next moment. He rushed away with her, leaving Loki alone on the floor. He looked down at himself and found that everywhere Natasha's body had touched his there were smears and pools of blood.

Behind him, he could vaguely hear Clint yelling at Sif for suggesting they leave Natasha behind. He stood slowly, silently staring at the blood on his hands for a long time, before Agent Coulson took his arm and led him toward the infirmary to tend to his own wounds.

Of course, by the time they got there his wounds were nearly healed, so the Midgardian doctors had little to tend to. When they finished, he sought out Natasha, but when he found Director Fury again she was nowhere to be seen. His eyes ventured past Fury, though the window of the door he stood beside, and saw through a hoard of doctors her flame red hair against the stark white bed she laid upon.

The next moment a nurse pulled the blinds of the window shut, and Loki waited silently with Director Fury. As the hours passed, others came to wait with them, until the hall was completely filled. It seemed forever before the doctors finished and opened the door to stand before them. They all listened anxiously as Natasha's fate was revealed, their breaths held tightly in their throats.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please keep reading, and review!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha woke to an empty room, but it was a long while before she was conscious enough to recognize where she was. After time passed she vaguely heard people enter the room and try to talk to her, but her mind was still glazed over with drugs and their faces were only blurs above her.

When her mind cleared and she could speak, she told the nurses to keep everyone out of her room. She did not want anyone to see her injured and weak, or at least not any more than they already had.

It was a few hours later that she heard shouting outside of her door, and she slowly turned her body so that her toes touched the floor and she was sitting up. It took her a few deep breaths to get up the nerve to try to stand, and she was surprised to have her feet hold beneath her. She walked carefully, weakly to the open doorway of her room and placed her hand on the frame to steady herself.

She had originally meant to close the door, but when she recognized the voices, she stayed hidden within her room to listen.

''It is your fault that Hogun and Volstagg lay injured in those beds!'' Odin yelled, his deep voice so loud and booming that a tremor ran through Natasha.

''I was brave!'' Thor rumbled, and she heard his fist hitting the armor on his chest in emphasis of his words.

''You were foolish!'' Odin shouted. ''The moment an opportunity for bloodshed presented itself, you ran forward with no plan. Your head is so clouded with the thought of glory that you have no room for any other!''

''Father, I need to speak with you.''

This voice did not belong to Thor, but to Loki. The low, pleading purr of his voice made a shiver run through her.

''Not now, Loki!'' Odin barked. She heard the shuffle of the heavy Asgardian armor, and she surmised that he had turned back to face Thor. ''Perhaps it is a blessing that your coronation was interrupted. You are still a child. You are not worthy of the crown.''

The wall beside Natasha shook as Thor struck it with his fist, and his cry was full of anger and pain. She heard his footsteps retreat quickly from the hall, and a second pair make their way slowly away after.

''Father...'' Loki called weakly after him, but the footsteps did not stop. It was a long while before she heard Loki move from his place in the hallway, and she was surprised when it was in the direction of her room.

She started to move back from the doorway, to not draw his attention as he passed, but he turned to enter her room and froze when he saw her standing before him.

''Agent Romanoff,'' he said, his voice wavering from his surprise. ''I did not think you would yet be awake.''

She did not answer, just looked down at his hand, which had found its way to her arm. His fingers were gentle against the soft flesh, and though it was an innocent gesture of concern, from Loki it was out of place and made her uncomfortable.

He moved his hand away quickly, and he laced the fingers of his hand with the fingers of its opposite. They fidgeted nervously in front of his abdomen, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. ''I was visiting some of our warriors that were injured. I thought I would stop and see how you were fairing as well.''

''I'm fine,'' she said breathlessly, a sudden fatigue rushing over her from standing for so long too soon after her recovery.

His eyebrow raised slightly, and his lips pressed into a hard line of concern. ''I think it best that you return to your bed, Agent Romanoff.'' Instead of waiting for her to answer, he took her arm again and led her toward the hospital bed she had vacated. She obligingly sat down on the edge of the bed, and was surprised when he sat down in the chair beside the mattress.

He did not look at her, just stared blankly at the floor. She figured whatever he had wanted to talk to his father about was worrying at his mind and had him distracted. She fidgeted with the wires still stuck in her arm, and it made one of the machines beep unhappily beside her.

The noise surprised Loki, and brought him immediately back to attention. The beeping stopped when Natasha forced her hand away from the wires, and she met Loki's gaze.

''You were worried enough to check on me?'' she asked. ''A mortal?''

Loki opened his mouth the speak, and though words at first failed him, he finally found the right ones to say. ''We fought together, Agent Romanoff,'' he said softly, his expression as pure and innocent as she had ever seen it. ''In Asgard, that means something.''

She did not say anything, just looked to the floor and let silence fall over them.

''What happened in Las Vegas?'' he asked her suddenly.

Natasha grimaced. ''I saw the Frost Giants when I entered. The spinx was filled with them. They did not see me until I had my hands on the Casket. I don't remember the rest.''

Loki's eyes narrowed at her, his lips drawn into a tight, angry line. ''We had not planned on you encountering Frost Giants. You must have known you would not get away unscathed when you saw them. Why did you not leave?''

Natasha blinked at him, as if the thought had never occurred to her. ''Our mission was to retrieve the Casket.''

''When you saw the Frost Giants, you must have known that you would fail the mission,'' he persisted. Again, she stared blankly at him. His eyebrows raised, his expression incredulous, before it twisted in anger and disgust. ''Are you mad?''

She said nothing, just blinked and looked away from his intense eyes. His anger faded quickly, replaced by something he rarely felt for anyone but himself. Pity. ''What happened to you, to make you such a lost creature?''

Her eyes returned to his, blazing with a fire that he had not seen in them before. ''Get out,'' she spat. He had not meant the words to sting or to bite, yet it appeared that they had. He stood slowly, his expression drawn and guarded. His long legs brought him to the door so quickly that she only caught the edge of his cape as he slipped into the hallway and away from her.

* * *

Natasha had a strange feeling gnawing at her stomach for the next few hours, and it took her a while to recognize that it was guilt. Loki had made her angry with his words, but that had not been his intention. He had unknowingly struck one of the few sore spots that Natasha possessed, and she had lashed out at him for it.

She ignored the machines and the angry nurses as she removed the wires from her arm and vacated her bed. This time she did not stop at the doorway, but instead ventured down the hall in search of Loki. Many of the agents she passed as she left the infirmary gave her strange looks given she was clad only in a thin hospital gown, but she ignored them.

When she approached the quarters she knew housed the Asgardians, she finally spotted Loki at the end of the corridor. He disappeared around the corner, and she hurried her pace to catch him before he entered his room. But she heard his voice just before she turned the corner herself, and stopped short as to not interrupt.

''I wish to see my father,'' she heard Loki demand, and she peered silently around the corner to watch the exchange.

Loki was standing in front of a door with two Asgardians positioned between, and he was addressing the first guard with an urgent expression. Their weapons were crossed at the center, blocking Loki from entering the room.

''As we told you before, Prince Loki, the Allfather does not wish to see you,'' the first guard said, his voice monotone. Natasha wondered how many times since she had seen Loki last that he had attempted to see his father. It seemed whatever had been eating at Loki in her room at the infirmary had been more pressing than she originally believed.

''You will not deny me again,'' Loki pressed, anger prevalent in his tone.

''Prince Thor has upset the Allfather, he wishes to be alone,'' the second guard inserted.

''I am his son too!'' Loki growled. ''You will move aside or I will move you myself!''

When they refused to move, Natasha was surprised when Loki delivered on his threat. In a matter of seconds the two guards were incapacitated, lying in two separate heaps on the floor.

When Loki slipped inside the room, Natasha stepped from her hiding place around the corner. She silently ghosted across the floor, and peered around the door frame to look into the room though the small slit that Loki had left open.

* * *

Loki entered the room, and found Odin standing with his back to him and his staff discarded beside him on the bed. His hands were clasped at his back, and he was staring blankly ahead, deep in thought.

''I need to speak with you,'' Loki said, his voice small and weary.

''I do not have time for you,'' Odin said without turning to look at him.

''Am I cursed?'' Loki asked, ignoring him, and tension appeared across Odin's shoulders. By the time Odin turned fully around, Loki had let blue completely consume his skin. Odin did not flinch when he saw, and calmly met Loki's blood red eyes. At Odin's lack of response, Loki let the blue fade away again.

''No,'' Odin answered, his voice grave.

''What am I?'' Loki asked, and though his expression was blank there was a pleading in his voice that begged for anything but the answer he knew was coming.

''You are my son,'' Odin replied calmly, but Loki caught the hesitation, the flicker of doubt in his eye.

''What more than that?'' he asked, and the words were acid on his tongue. He took slow, deliberate steps towards his father, watching the weariness that grew on Odin's face with each. ''The Casket was not the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?''

When words were at first lost to Odin, Loki stopped his progress across the room, a few feet short of his father. ''No,'' he said finally.

''In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple, and I found a baby,'' Odin continued, his words careful but true. ''Small, for a Giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufeyson.''

''Laufeyson,'' Loki said slowly, as if in shock.

''Yes,'' Odin confirmed.

Loki looked back at Odin, when the realization truly hit him. ''Wh... Why? You were knee deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?'' he demanded, his voice hollow.

''You were an innocent child,'' Odin answered, but there was something behind the words. An ommission, a lie.

''No,'' Loki said, anger beginning to rear its ugly head inside of him. ''You took me for a purpose. What was it?''

Odin did not answer, and though Loki knew it then, he needed to hear it. ''Tell! Me!'' he screamed, his body bowing forward with the force of it, and he felt tears burning his eyes before Odin even spoke.

''I thought we could unite our kingdoms, bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace, through you,'' Odin answered, his voice defeated and sad.

''Wha...'' Loki stumbled in disbelief, in horror, in fear.

''But those plans no longer matter,'' Odin finished gravely.

''So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me,'' Loki stated, anger making its way past the tears that leaked down his face.

''Why do you twist my words?'' Odin demanded, but Loki ignored him.

''You could have told me what I was from the beginning, why didn't you?'' he persisted, his anger growing.

''You're my son, I wanted only to protect you from the truth,'' Odin insisted.

''What? Because I... I'm the monster who parents tell their children about at night?'' with each statement, his anger grew. It grew until the words that fell from his lips burned like acid, and he spoke over Odin's pleads. ''It all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years. No matter how much you claimed to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!''

Odin first fell to his knees, and then to the floor. At first Loki did not seem to notice, his anger making his eyes as red as they were in his Jotun form, but when it dawned on him what had happened the anger drained away.

He heard the door creak, and looked up to see the frail Black Widow standing in the doorway in her hospital gown. When she met his eyes, she saw nothing but a lost child, and she felt tears burn at her own eyes in the face of it.

''Get help,'' he said, his eyes wide in shock as he knelt to the floor beside his fallen father. ''Please.''

At first she was frozen, but his face was pleading when he looked up to her again. She was gone the next moment, but returned shortly with a few Asgardians at her heel. They flooded into the room to aid their fallen king, Loki pushed aside, and as she watched them kneel beside him, Natasha feared the severity of the consequence that the loss of the king would be for the war.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story is progressing a lot slower than I originally intended, but I actually like how it is playing out. I am taking my time with the development of their relationship and the different plots. Though I love the little ball of crazy that Loki is in the Avengers, the emotional depth that he possesses in Thor gives me a lot more to work with. That's why I kept the original scene at the end, between Odin and Loki. I hope you are all having as much fun as I am. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

''He was like this when I entered,'' Loki told the Asgardians when they questioned him about the events that had led to the collapse of their king. ''He was so distraught from his fight with Thor. Combined with his exertions in battle it is no surprise that he fell to Odinsleep.''

Natasha was still waiting in the room, and frowned when she heard this. Her gaze sought out Thor, who had hurried to Odin's room when news reached him of his father, and watched as his chin fell to his chest. His expression was sorrowful, and Natasha felt a conflict of emotions pass through her.

After a while she saw Loki slip from the room, and she was quick on his heel. She was not sure if the tension in his shoulders was from the events that had just taken place, or because he knew that she was following him.

Her silent inquiry was answered when he reached his room. He pushed open the door and stepped aside for her to enter first. She moved to stand at the middle of the room, and Loki switched on the light as he entered and closed the door behind himself.

''Why did you lie?'' she demanded.

Loki ignored her, and brushed past her as he crossed the room. She caught his arm, stopping him, and he jerked it roughly free before turning to face her again. ''You had no reason to be there,'' Loki snarled at her. ''What you saw was no business of yours.''

She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued before she could.

''It is your fault that it came to this,'' Loki hissed, drawing in dangerously close her. Her hands clenched to fists at her sides, aching for a weapon to defend herself. ''Somewhere deep down I knew I was different. I had ignored it, suppressed it. And then you came along and surfaced all of my fears and all of my doubts-''

''You're reaching,'' she interrupted calmly. ''You don't have to do that, you don't have to find someone to blame. You're allowed to be angry.''

Loki turned sharply from her and gave her his back. ''I do not know why I lied. There is already so much resentment toward me in Asgard, it is not as if it would make much of a difference for them to know I was at fault.''

''It wasn't your fault,'' she said. Loki let out a sharp breath of contempt, and turned to look at her.

''They would find blame in me, Agent Romanoff, I assure you. And imagine if they were to know the whole truth,'' he said, a smile twitching at his lips, but it was bitter and without humor.

''You should not have blamed Thor,'' she said. ''That was unfair.''

''You think Thor above blame?'' he demanded, his false amusement gone and his anger surfacing again. ''You think him better than that? If he knew the truth of my parentage, he would hunt me down as ruthlessly as he does the other Frost Giants.''

''You're his brother,'' she persisted, and he was suddenly there in front of her, his chest pressed against hers and his face dangerously close to her own. Her breath caught in her throat, fear making its way past her normally cool exterior.

''He is not my brother,'' Loki spat. He moved away from her, as quickly as he had come, letting her breathe again. ''I suppose somewhere deep down, he had the same suspicions that I had. He never respected me, always treated me like I was beneath him. It hurt more when I thought we were truly brothers. I suppose I can take a small comfort in that.''

It dawned on him suddenly that he was spilling everything to a stranger, things he had long kept suppressed inside of himself. Perhaps another time he would laugh at his own foolishness, but instead he grew more angry.

''It would be wise for you to leave now, Agent Romanoff,'' he said, and though his voice was calm it held warning. ''And even more wise for you to keep what you heard to yourself.''

Natasha's jaw tightened. ''I have no reason to tell anyone.''

Loki caught her wording, and narrowed his eyes at her. ''And if there were reason later?''

She did not answer him, just pressed her lips into a hard line, and that was answer enough. He grabbed her arm roughly, but the action was expected and she slipped her arm easily free. She turned sharply on her heel and headed for the door, but just as she started to pull it open Loki pressed her so hard against it that it slammed back shut.

She grunted it pain, and his grip on her wrist forced her to turn around to face him. He was frighteningly close, and his breath was sharp and cold and angry on her face.

''You will give me your word that you will never speak of this,'' he snarled.

Natasha said nothing, just stared blankly up at him.

He slammed his hand against the door beside her head, making her flinch. ''I am a god!'' he spat at her. ''You would not dare defy me, you mewling quim!''

She raised her chin stubbornly, meeting his heated gaze with her own. She brought her hands to his chest and shoved him back from her. It did not move him far, but it gave her space to move. She advanced forward, making him back up a step in turn.

When she looked up to his face again, she found his eyes wide and his anger gone. His expression was incredulous, as if he could not believe that she would not fold to his will.

''Do not give me a reason,'' she suggested, and though her expression was still blank her voice held venom. Loki did not say anything, just continued to stare at her in shock, absolutely confounded by the woman before him. She slowly turned and left the room, and this time he did not reach to stop her.

When the door shut behind Natasha, she rubbed her wrist where there were sure to be bruises later. She found her legs unsteady beneath herself, and caught the wall to ease her descent to the floor. The exertion of the past few hours had drained her already weak body, and she felt herself slide down the wall and hit the floor just before the world went completely black.

* * *

Natasha woke just as she felt her back press against the cold sheets of her hospital bed. She gazed blankly up at Loki, whose lips were pressed into a hard line as he gently set her down. His arms as he slipped them from beneath her body were still tense in anger, and she was surprised he hadn't just tossed her onto the bed or left her unconscious on the floor outside of his room entirely.

He backed away from the bed to leave, and Natasha opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, a voice boomed through the hall, calling out for Loki in anger. She recognized Thor's voice even before he barged into her room, and Loki cast an embarrassed glance back at Natasha before approaching his brother.

He put his hands on Thor's chest, trying to persuade him from the room, but Thor shoved them aside. ''You lied to me, brother!''

Natasha saw Loki flinch at the sentiment, but he held his tongue. ''I assure you I did no such thing,'' he replied calmly.

''You said that father fell to Odinsleep because of me, but he was awake when you entered his room!'' Thor persisted, not allowing Loki's denial to distract from his anger.

Natasha was not surprised that the God of Mischief could keep his face blank even after his lie had been exposed. He was as stubborn as she, if not even more so. ''What evidence do you have to support that claim?'' Loki demanded, contorting his face in false confusion.

''The man of iron showed me. Something called a video recording. There were moving pictures,'' Thor explained, though he fumbled slightly over the unfamiliar terms. He waved his hand angrily through the air, as if to dismiss his confusion. ''It is magic I do not understand, but I cannot deny what my eyes saw!''

Loki's mask crumbled beneath this, and Natasha saw fear blatant in his eyes. ''Did you... Did you hear us speaking?''

Thor shook his head, and the relief on Loki's face was instant.

Thor stepped impossibly close, and Loki's eyes were afraid again in the face of Thor's anger. ''You would wrong me so, brother? After I kept from father the truth about the Frost Giants breaking into Asgard?''

''Be mindful of our audience, Thor,'' Loki said urgently, his eyes flickering to Natasha.

But Thor persisted, his hand finding the back of Loki's neck and applying a painful amount of pressure. Loki winced but did not complain, silently begging Thor not to continue.

''You did not mind to give me the burden of father's fall into Odinsleep. That burden is yours to bear,'' Thor rumbled. Natasha saw the defeat in Loki's eyes before Thor even spoke the final words, knowing they were coming. ''As the burden of this war is yours to bear.''

Natasha blinked in surprise, the severity of the words slow to sink in. It was such an outrageous declaration, but given Loki's reaction she knew it to be true.

Loki's eyes fell to the floor, and Thor stepped away. He turned to Natasha, his anger placated. He gave her a small bow to excuse himself, and walked slowly from the room. His departure left Natasha and Loki alone in the room again, a heavy silence fallen over them.

Loki stood frozen in place for a long time, staring after Thor like a lost child. After a while he sat down on the ledge of Natasha's bed, and put his face in his hands. Natasha was slow to move, afraid of scaring off the volatile god, and reached out to touch him. She gently brushed her fingers through his hair, and sat with him while he silently imploded.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have been loving the reviews, so thank you all for submitting them. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

It was a long time before Loki raised his face from his hands and looked to Natasha. She was closer now, with her head resting gently on his shoulder and her arms slipped carefully around him. She felt his gaze and raised her head to meet his eyes, but that only lasted a second before he closed the distance between them.

The kiss was gentle, tentative as Loki waited for her reaction. He braced himself for a slap, an insult, a look of contempt or disgust. But when none of those things came, and instead Natasha's eyes fluttered shut after her initial surprise faded away, he deepened the kiss.

His intentions had been innocent at first. He only wished to find comfort, a warm embrace. But it turned quickly into much darker things. His shame and his sadness were replaced by his anger and his pain, and he ate greedily at her mouth. His fingers that had slipped so gently into her hair were now pulling, grasping at any and all of her that he could.

Natasha responded in kind, raking her nails down his neck until she drew blood. When her hands starting pulling at the complicated fastenings of his Asgardian clothing, he found himself retreating from her and across the room.

She stared after him with a mixture of hurt and confusion, but that disappeared quickly. A smile twitched at her lips when she realized the true intention of his abandonment, after he shut the door hastily and started unfastening his pants. Her eyes followed his hands on his groin, and she almost missed when one strayed and hoovered over the handle of the door. Her eyes widened slightly when blue crawled over his skin, and she watched as ice formed on the handle to seal the door shut.

The blue faded as he stepped toward the bed, each step tantalizing and agonizingly slow. He put a knee on the bed between her thighs, and caught her lips as he pressed her down against the cold sheets of the hospital bed.

One hand gently cupped her breast above the thin fabric of the hospital gown, while the other hastily pushed the fabric up to her waist and exposed her thighs. He gathered it up higher, and his fingers gripped her hip through the flimsy fabric of her panties. He hissed when she bit at his lips in impatience.

She reached between them, pulling at the unyielding leather fabric of his pants. He growled into her mouth as he brushed her hands away and pushed the fabric aside himself. She pulled away to look at him, and he watched her eyes widen as his hips forces her thighs apart and she felt the tip of him pressing at her entrance.

Much like the kiss he was tentative at first, testing the waters in fear of drowning. His first movements were slow, gentle as he pressed himself inside of her, ignoring her hands clawing at him impatiently. When he found it to be safe, he let himself jump in head first, losing himself to the sound of her gasps and her moans.

He was rough, more rough than he should have been, especially given her current condition. Natasha was fully aware of this as well, but still she did not stop him. He needed an outlet for his frustration and his anger so he did not turn to more destructive things, and she would gladly play that role. As Tony was sure to later put it, she was taking one for the team.

Even when the thought crossed her mind it felt wrong. Natasha had played the martyr many times before, but something about this did not sit right with her. Her marks had been bad men, cruel men, and Loki was none of those things.

Loki stopped moving above her, and pulled away to meet her eyes, sensing her hesitations. ''Do you wish me to stop?'' he asked her breathlessly.

To her surprise, she didn't. If any other man had ever bothered to ask her that question during their relations, she would have said yes. But for some reason as she stared at Loki above her, his skin sporting a fresh sheen of sweat and his eyes fluttering over her face in concern, she shook her head no.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her mouth, and she turned her head to catch his lips with her own. His thrusts resumed a moment later, coming fast and sharp, and the pleasure distracted Natasha from her earlier thoughts. She splayed her hands on his chest, reveling in the feel of the lithe muscles of his chest as they rippled beneath his armor with his exertions.

A certain twinge of his hips had Natasha suddenly reeling, and Loki came with her, inside of her. With one last thrust he pulled out of her, and rolled onto the bed on his side beside her. He raised an arm to pillow his head, and the hand of the other skimmed lightly over Natasha's stomach. His large, slim hand cupped her waist, pulling her body in close to his own.

Natasha winced as she shifted closer to him, and Loki dipped his head down in concern. ''Did I hurt you?''

She thought of the ache between her legs due to the viciousness of his actions, and the residual pain in all of the rest of her body from the mission in Las Vegas. Loki knew the answer, but when she bothered to lie and shake her head no, he knew to not give the subject further attention.

He rested his head back on his arm and lifted his free hand to gently stroke the red locks of her hair. Natasha tucked her face into his chest, and closed her eyes when the smell of rain soothed over her.

''I was jealous,'' Loki said suddenly, and Natasha did not look up at him, knowing he would not want the attention while he indulged her with something embarrassing and personal. ''I concealed the Frost Giants so they would interrupt Thor's coronation. I did not know my childish actions would lead to this.''

She did not say anything, giving him the time and space to speak. ''I earned my name when I was very young. When I was old enough to see the differences between us. I realized early that no one would ever change their perception of me, that there was nothing I could ever due to be equal to Thor. So I started causing mischief. I started weaving a path that was mine alone, in hopes to stray from beneath Thor's shadow and be something more. Even if it was not something desirable.''

He pressed his mouth to her forehead, and his sigh was cool against her hair. ''Do you think me terrible, Agent Romanoff?''

''Does it matter what I think?'' she asked. It was not asked harshly or bitterly, but with an honest curiosity. It make Loki hesitate, and his breath stilled against her hair as her question took his silver tongue by surprise.

''Yes.''

Natasha moved back so she could look up at Loki's face, and his expression of surprise at his answer mirrored hers. When the surprise faded, and she realized he was waiting for her answer, she felt her face soften as she gazed up into his emerald eyes. ''No, I do not think you terrible,'' she said honestly. She reached up and brushed back a stray lock of raven black hair.

Her natural instinct kicked in, and she took advantage of the moment. ''Not as long as you try your hardest to right your wrong.''

Loki said nothing, just pressed his lips together and gave the barest of nods. She pressed her face back to the sharp planes of his chest, and hated herself for her manipulation. It was necessary, she needed to keep him happy and on their side, but still she felt unsettled in the pit of her stomach.

A sound suddenly reached their ears, and it made the feeling in Natasha's stomach solidify. There were a hundred sets of footsteps thundering down the hall toward her room, and Natasha feared what their purpose would be.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Loki was quick to fix his clothing and put space between him and Natasha. When he glanced back at her, he was surprised to see how calm and collected she looked, despite what they had just done. He fought for his own composure, just as the door burst open and a flood of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Asgardians poured into the room.

Loki jerked back in surprise when the agents approached him and seized his arms. Natasha jumped from her bed and grabbed at the nearest agent to free Loki, but when Director Fury walked into the room the next moment her hands fell away.

''What is the meaning of this?'' she heard Thor demand as he pushed his way through the crowd of people and into the room. He moved to stand before Director Fury, his anger palpable as he stared down at the man. ''You will release my brother!''

The Avengers pushed forward to stand behind their leader, and Natasha fell in line with them. Steve moved forward to put distance between Director Fury and the angry Thor.

''An interesting development has come to my attention,'' Director Fury stated, ignoring Thor's demand. He turned to look at Loki, still being restrained by the agents. He did not fight them, but Director Fury knew that if he did they would not be able to hold him. ''Stark, Rogers,'' he said, motioning them forward.

Tony grumbled at the order, but the two moved to Loki's sides and replaced the agents. Now Director Fury saw a flicker of panic flash across Loki's expression, but it was quick to disappear behind his cool composure.

''It appears we have a Frost Giant in our midst,'' Director Fury stated, and there were collective outbursts from the crowd. Loki's eyes widened in horror. He had expected that Thor had been overheard earlier, that he would be reprimanded for starting the war. But it was much worse than that.

He shot an icy glare at Natasha, knowing she was the only one to know the truth. He didn't know when she had found the time to report it, since he had been with her every moment since his confrontation with Odin, but his anger clouded his mind to the possibility of someone else overhearing. Her eyes were wide and frightened as she looked to him, and she winced when she caught the glare, as if his hateful gaze had stung her.

''What proof do you have of this terrible declaration?'' Thor demanded. ''Loki is a son of Odin! He is my brother!''

Loki's expression darkened, and Natasha felt her heartbeat choking in her throat in fear of what he would say.

''They speak the truth,'' Loki stated calmly. He met Thor's eyes, his own cold and unwavering. ''I am not Odinson. I am not your brother. I am Laufeyson.''

Thor's expression fell, a mixture of horror and shock and sadness. His mouth was still open to speak but words were lost to him as he stared at Loki. ''You... What?''

''It makes sense, does it not?'' Loki persisted, malice in his voice. ''You know as well as I do that I did not belong in Asgard.''

''It... It means nothing. You are still my brother!'' Thor asserted, coming out of his stupor.

''I have never _been_ your brother!'' Loki snarled, lurching forward. Tony and Steve tightened their grips on his arms, holding him back. ''Not even when I thought we were of the same blood.''

''We were raised together, we played together, we fought together!'' Thor rumbled.

''Does it not warm your heart?'' Loki demanded, ignoring him. ''It warms the heart of ice that beats within _my_ chest! To know that all those years of being less than you, of being nothing but a thorn in your glorious side, were all a lie!''

Tony and Steve were fully restraining him now. He seemed to suddenly become aware of their presence at his sides, and the anger on his face turned to an expression of annoyance.

He tossed Steve away easily, throwing him into the crowd of Asgardians and agents surrounded them. Tony raised his hand to Loki, prepared to blast him, but Loki was too fast. His scepter materialized in his hand, and he swung it like a bat, angled toward Tony's chest. Tony slammed back into the wall, and the plaster caved under the force.

Before anyone could move past their horror and their surprise, Loki disappeared.

Director Fury barked into his communicator for Agent Coulson and Agent Hill to put out a warrant for Loki, but Natasha knew immediately that they would not find him.

Sif and the Warriors Three gathered around Thor, and Natasha did not care to hear their words of comfort. She knew, as Thor knew, that their words would be empty. They did not care for Loki, and when the excitement of the events that had transpired died down, they would be relieved that he was gone.

For now, anyway.

Natasha ducked into the hole that Tony had disappeared into. The plaster crunched beneath her feet, and she found him lying on his back on the floor in the middle of the room. It was another hospital room, fortunately not occupied at that time.

He was not hurt, just exasperated. When he saw her approach, he moved to stand, but she put her bare foot on his metal chest and slammed him back down again.

''I can see up your gown,'' Tony said, forcing the words out past his surprise. She felt the other Avengers approach at her back, but she ignored them.

''The video had sound, didn't it?'' she demanded.

His expression was blank, but it was answer enough. ''You didn't let Thor hear so you would have time to report to Fury.''

''He's the enemy,'' Tony said flatly.

''He was on our side!'' she growled. ''I was there. I saw everything. I'm sure you saw that on the security system.''

''You were compromised.''

Tony got to his feet, forcing Natasha to stumble back. Clint caught her and steadied her, and though she was grateful her eyes were all for Tony.

''I waited to tell Fury. For you. Do you think it was by chance that we arrived right after you finished sleeping with him, and no sooner?'' Tony demanded. She saw the tension in everyone around her with that revelation, of what she had done with Loki.

''I was working him,'' Natasha replied calmly. ''He just learned that he's a Frost Giant. He's confused. I was keeping him loyal.''

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but the probability that she was telling the truth given her specific skill set overpowered his convictions, and words failed him. That was more surprising than anything that had happened that day. ''You were very convincing,'' he said finally.

''You would know firsthand how convincing I can be,'' she reminded him.

He swallowed hard and nodded. He would not apologize, but the slightly embarrassed expression on his face was enough of an apology for her.

She turned to leave, but he caught her hand. The metal of the Iron Man suit was cold against her skin, and it reminded her of Loki. She was surprised by the sharp pain that came with the thought, but she suppressed it as she turned to face Tony again.

''Tasha, you know I have to tell Fury.''

She nodded slowly, before pulling her hand gently free and turning to leave again. This time it was not Tony that stopped her, but Steve. ''Agent Romanoff,'' he said, and she looked at him over her shoulder. ''Remember that we are a team. You don't have to handle this all on your own.''

''I know,'' she said blankly, and with Steve's slightly dejected expression she offered him a small, reassuring smile.

''Thank you for your sacrifice,'' he said, and the pain in Natasha's chest twinged at the words, like a reminder that it was still there.

She nodded sharply, formally, and dismissed herself.

* * *

Natasha did not return to her hospital room, to the bed she had been compromised in. She returned instead to the room S.H.I.E.L.D. had set her up with, and once she escaped inside, she sunk against the door. The pain in her chest was gone and she was left feeling numb, too overwhelmed by all the events of the past few days to feel any longer.

When she forced herself to move again, she found herself under the hot spray of her shower. The heat felt good against her back, and she closed her eyes to savor the feel of it. When the water started to lose its heat, she took to utilizing the shower for its true purpose.

She washed her hair quickly, but took her time scrubbing her body. It forced her to confront something that she had not had time to process earlier.

She rubbed the space between her legs, washing away what evidence she could that Loki had been there. She had not stopped Loki from coming inside of her when they had slept together, and though she doubted he would have any sort of disease, there were worse things that could result from unprotected sex.

Natasha touched her belly subconsciously, and her mouth tasted bitter when she remembered that she didn't truly have to worry about having a baby.

Natasha had been raised in a place called the Red Room, as part of the Black Widow program she'd been forced to partake in as an orphaned child in Russia. When she was not in the training room working on her physique, she was strapped to a chair in the Red Room being experimented on. It was where they had altered her, changed her, controlled her. They'd given her strength and an advanced ability to heal, but they had taken much more from her than they could ever give her in return.

They'd taken her ability to bear children.

It was a harsh reality she'd had to deal with once upon a time. She'd gotten pregnant on accident in Russia, a result of her specific skill set, and after much deliberation she had decided to take the baby to term. She had only made it two months before she miscarried, and after a thorough examination, she'd seen the mess the doctors and scientists in the Red Room had made of her womb.

It did not suit Russia for their spy to be a mother.

Natasha slammed the faucet of the shower off and jerkily wrapped herself in a towel. She was angry that events from so long ago could still upset her now, and she cursed herself for the possibility that she had put herself into the same position again.

She did not even dress before she climbed beneath the cold sheets of her bed. She feared she would not be able to sleep with her mind turning so fervently, but the second her head hit her pillow her concerns were alleviated.

She fell into a fitful sleep, full of dreams of Frost Giant babies and the world coming to an end.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Director Fury called a meeting early the next day. Thor stood in for Odin, with Sif and The Warriors Three at his back. There was a tension between all of them when the Avengers entered the room, and Natasha assumed it was over Loki. There were large bags under Thor's eyes, and even the joyous Volstagg seemed under the weather.

The Avengers all settled about the room, and the silence that fell over them all was almost palpable. It was broken when Director Fury and Agent Coulson entered the room, their faces grim and their movements full of purpose.

''Listen up,'' Director Fury said, going to the front of the room and pulling a small tab that hung down from the ceiling. As the canvas it was attached to unrolled, it exposed a large map of the world. Director Fury raised his hand to point at the top right corner of the map, at the very edge of Russia.

''Because the Frost Giants defeated Thor in the North, they bridged the gap between North America and Asia. They are still concentrated in northeast Russia, so we need to act fast and push them back to Alaska.''

''We have absolutely no jurisdiction in Russia. Since it is a time of war, we do not think there will be any problems with their government, but just in case, we need to be in and out as quickly as possible,'' Agent Coulson continued.

''There's transportation waiting just off base, a commercial plane. It leaves in one hour,'' Director Fury stated. He turned to Thor, whose face was serious and grave. ''Ready your army.''

Thor disappeared from the room a moment later, with Sif and The Warriors Three at his heel. Director Fury looked out at the Avengers, and nodded his head to them, meeting each pair of eyes with the exception of Natasha. She frowned at this, but remained silent.

''Suit up,'' he commanded. ''Let's get these motherfuckers.''

They all filed out the door, Natasha the last to leave. Just before she managed to escape, Director Fury called her back. ''You're not going, Agent Romanoff.''

She crossed her arms as she turned to look at him. She waited silently for him to explain, her lips pressed into a tight line.

''After that incident you pulled last time in Russia, I cannot permit you to go,'' he stated. Natasha's jaw clenched tightly and she averted her gaze to the floor, her eyes narrowed and furious. ''However, I have a different assignment for you.''

She looked back to Fury, surprise evident on her expression.

''Stark informed me of your liaison with Loki,'' Director Fury stated. ''He needs to be detained.''

''How do you expect me to do that?'' she asked. ''Loki isn't exactly my average target.''

''He appears to have a soft spot for you,'' Director Fury persisted. ''You will take advantage of that.''

Natasha said nothing, though inside she was boiling.

''We constructed a cell for Doctor Banner in the basement of this facility. It will be enough to hold him,'' Director Fury stated. ''I don't care what means you bring him in, but we need him here and under control. He is too much of a wild card.''

Natasha bit her tongue to keep from speaking out against her orders. Instead, she nodded her head sharply and left the briefing room.

With the mission weighing heavy on her shoulders, Natasha set straight to work. She suited up in her Black Widow uniform, and sought out Agent Hill to secure transportation. She already knew where to go.

* * *

Natasha found Loki exactly where she had expected him to be.

She approached him slowly, and the slightest turn of his head toward her let her know that he was aware of her there. He was standing before the spinx, and the makeshift throne was empty of Laufey and the other Frost Giants. His back was to her, and he turned his head away again to stare blankly up at where Laufey had been only days before.

''I spoke with him,'' Loki said suddenly, breaking the silence that was heavy in the winter air about them. ''I spoke with Laufey.''

Natasha did not speak, just took slow, silent steps toward him.

''I revealed who I was. His child left to die, stolen by his enemy,'' Loki said quietly, and Natasha stopped her advance, just a foot away. His voice broke when he spoke, and it made her throat catch. ''He laughed in the face of my misery.''

Loki's head bowed slightly, and he laughed without humor. ''I suppose I would have done the same in his place. It was obvious that I had been unwanted. That I had been meant to die.''

He looked back up to the throne. ''He vanished after, with the others and the Casket. I know not where they went.''

Natasha's eyes widened at this news. She raised her hand to the device in her ear and pressed the button. ''Thor,'' she spoke, her voice urgent. At the sound of his false brother's name, Loki turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. ''Laufey may be headed your way. He-''

Her hand was suddenly ripped from the communicator, and Loki's grip was steel on her wrist. He was so close, so imposing, and his breath on her face seemed to hold more bite than even the cold air around her. ''You are an agent first, and Natasha Romanoff second. Are you not?''

''I didn't-''

''Am I wrong?'' he demanded, his eyes narrow and angry.

''No,'' she answered truthfully, pulling her arm free but keeping her face blank. ''But there is always an exception. You were the exception.''

''That is a lie, Agent Romanoff,'' he seethed.

''I didn't tell anyone about you. I kept what passed between you and Odin to myself,'' she persisted, letting her exasperation slip through her cool exterior. ''I swear on my life.''

''On your life?'' he growled. ''You marched into a room full of Frost Giants for the sake of a mission you knew would fail. Your life does not appear to be worth very much.''

His words stung, and Natasha was surprised to feel tears burn at her eyes. He turned away from her but she was quick to catch his arm. He jerked it free, and the movement was so forceful and unexpected that she fell to the ground on her hands and knees.

''I wish for you to go,'' Loki said to her, not bothering to even look at her.

''I do not want to go,'' Natasha said. The words slipped out before she could stop them, surprising them both. She stood slowly from the ground, and brushed the snow and small flakes of ice from her jumpsuit. He turned to look at her, his expression guarded.

She took an unsteady step toward him, and his eyes flickered over her wearily.

''When I first left Russia and came to S.H.I.E.L.D., I was beyond confused. About myself, about my past. You asked me what happened to make me such a lost creature, but I was much worse when Agent Barton found me,'' she said. Loki's face was blank as he stared down at her, but she knew inside he was anxious for the point of her story, wanting its comfort.

''I grew up in a place called the Red Room. They tortured me, brainwashed me, manipulated me. I was not a person, I was a tool to be used. Until Agent Barton found me, I did not know anything else. I had no doubts, no questions, no options. I was a puppet for Russia to play with, and I did not mind because I did not know any better.''

''I wasn't the only girl in the Black Widow program. There were twenty-seven of us,'' she paused, as emotions started surfacing that she had long repressed. ''It was during my first few months with S.H.I.E.L.D. that it came to my attention that the others were being picked off, and the Black Widow program terminated. I knew I had to reach the Red Room before all the evidence was destroyed, I needed answers to all the questions that had surfaced after I escaped. I was still in the dark about a lot of things.''

She looked up at Loki, and he was surprised at the gleam of tears in her eyes. ''I made it to the Red Room, and everything came back to me. I was alone when I found out the truth, when I found out that my entire life had been a lie. I lost control, and destroyed the room myself. I never wanted S.H.I.E.L.D. or anyone else to find out the truth about me.''

She reached forward and took Loki's hand. When he not recoil away, she tensed her fingers around his and wondered if the comfort was more for him or for herself. ''It gets better,'' she said, and the weakness she had shown a few moments before was gone. ''I know you are angry, I know you feel lost. But you will realize that knowing the truth and embracing it, in time, is a much better fate than being in the dark and hiding from your own shadow for the rest of your life.''

Her strength wavered slightly. ''My only regret is not having anyone there when I found out the truth. I don't think I had ever felt truly alone until then. But you are lucky, you are not alone.''

Loki was silent for a long time, before his fingers returned the embrace of her own. His eyes were weary, unsure as they met hers. ''Are you implying that you will be the one to comfort me, Agent Romanoff?'' he asked carefully.

''Come back with me,'' she said, swallowing hard. She had been so lost in her story, in memories of her past that she had nearly forgotten the purpose of her mission.

Loki glowered at her and pulled his hand away. ''I would not be welcome, of that I am sure.''

''I will keep you safe,'' Natasha persisted, clutching at his leather back. ''You were lied to by your false father, and rejected by your true one. I know how it feels to not belong, to be lost.''

Loki turned towards her, and there were tears on his cheeks. Natasha's heart was a ball of pain in her chest, a reminder that she had one, a plea to not manipulate him further, to take pity on him. ''And you would stay with me? You would not leave me?''

''I swear,'' she said, and she did not know herself if that was the truth or a lie.

''And you would not lie to me?'' he asked carefully.

Natasha was quick to hide her surprise of the question. ''I won't lie to you.''

Loki shook his head at her, and she saw in his expression that he wanted to believe her but didn't.

''I cannot tell if what you say is truth or not,'' Loki admitted quietly. ''I cannot take the risk of it not being the truth.''

She reached for him, and ignored when he tried to pull away. She slipped her hands around him, over the sharp planes of his chest and through the silky raven locks of his hair. She pressed her lips to his, and though she felt his want for her, he did not return her affections.

''I think it is time for you to go, Agent Romanoff,'' he said, when she finally released his mouth. It was sharp, and clipped, and Natasha's heart sunk in the face of another failed mission. She let her sadness show on her expression, and it scared her to admit that it was true. She turned away, and started back to where her transportation was waiting.

She spared a final look back at him. She expected him to have turned away, for his resolve to be unwavering. But he was staring after her with a lost expression, his resolve weak, and she knew in that moment that she had not lost the mission.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Director Fury was fuming when Natasha returned to headquarters alone. But she just walked past him with a small smile on her lips, ignoring at first him yelling after her. Just before she escaped the landing bay where her transportation had ended her, she turned around to face him.

''Loki will be delivered to you shortly,'' she said, bowing her head to excuse herself. She did not wait for his reply, and instead walked into the facility and headed for the control room.

She found Agent Coulson easily. ''Sir, was I able to warn Thor in time?'' she asked his back.

Agent Coulson turned from Agent Hill to look at her, a kind smile on his lips. ''Yes. Laufey did try to upset the mission in Russia, but they were prepared for him thanks to you.''

''The mission is successful?'' she asked, raising her eyebrows.

''So far,'' Agent Hill answered from behind him. ''They are making remarkable progress.''

Someone called for Agent Coulson, and he and Agent Hill dismissed themselves to tend to the agent. Natasha left the control room in search of her room. Though her confrontation with Loki had been short, she had spent a good portion of the day travelling and she yearned for rest.

On the way, she stopped at the infirmary. She ghosted past the nurses and doctors, wanting her purpose there to not be questioned. When she had acquired what she needed, she pocketed the items and disappeared as easily and as quickly as she had come.

When she returned to her room, she shed her jumpsuit and climbed directly into bed. It wasn't until she settled in the sheets that the full weight of what she was about to do hit her, and it weighed heavy on her chest.

But deep down she knew Director Fury was right. She knew Loki was too volatile, too unpredictable to be left alone. So she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into her pillow, wishing to sleep until the mischief maker returned.

* * *

Natasha woke to the feeling of eyes on her, and she pressed the sheet to her chest as she sat up in bed to face Loki. He was standing across the room in front of the closed door, his expression guarded and giving her nothing.

''You look surprised to see me here,'' he said, stepping carefully toward her. ''But you knew I would come.''

She pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded, opting for truth. There would be plenty of time for lies later.

''Am I that predictable, Agent Romanoff?'' he asked her softly.

''No,'' she said, standing from the bed with the sheet wrapped around herself. She saw Loki's eyes flicker over her body, and she stepped carefully toward him to keep him distracted. ''But I was hoping.''

''I do not know if I will stay,'' he said honestly. ''As of two moons ago, I do not know anything.''

When she reached him, she slowly slid her fingers up his chest until they wrapped around the back of his neck. ''Do not think about that now,'' she breathed, gazing up into Loki's beautiful emerald eyes. ''You have been thinking enough.''

Loki's eyes grew a shade darker, understanding her intentions. He fingered the soft cotton sheet near her belly, twisting the fabric between his fingers. ''How do you intend to occupy my mind, Agent Romanoff?'' he asked her lowly.

''Natasha,'' she corrected him.

''Natasha,'' he repeated, letting her name roll over his tongue like a fine wine.

''Let me show you,'' she drawled. She started to move away, but his grip on the fabric prevented her movement. He twisted his hand, tightening the fabric around her and forcing her closer. He dipped his head to catch her lips, and when she gasped he deepened it. He forced his silver tongue into her mouth, overpowering her own when she fought for dominance.

He ripped the sheet away and his hands on her were rough. He kept his mouth on hers as he advanced forward, forcing her back and toward the bed. When they reached it, he let her free from his mouth and his hands, shoving her down onto the bed and staying at his place by the edge.

Natasha lay limply on the bed, staring up at him as she caught her breath. Her eyes flickered to his hands at his waist as they unfastened his pants, and the more that was revealed the tighter her body grew in anticipation.

When he finished, she expected Loki to join her on the bed, but instead he reached forward and grabbed her thighs. He pulled her toward himself and twisted her around until her back was to him, until her feet touched the ground and she was bent over the bed. She gasped in surprise, as the position was unfamiliar to her. She was used to being the one in control, but for the second time Loki was dominating her. Maybe another time she would have objected, but completing her mission relied on Loki being happy and distracted.

He gave her no warning before he entered her, and he pressed past the tight walls of her until he was fully sheathed. The moan that slipped from her mouth was more of a cry, and his next thrusts came much more gently until she adjusted to him.

Once she had, his thrusts came fast and rough, and his fingers gripped her waist so tightly that she knew there would be bruises. Her hands clutched the sheets, and she leaned forward until her face pressed to the bed so that she could muffle her cries against the bed cover. When he noticed what she was doing, he reached forward and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her up until her back pressed to his chest and his mouth was to her ear.

''I do not bed you like this for you to be quiet,'' he growled lowly. He forced her back down again, and his next thrust came viciously, entering her impossibly deeper, impossibly faster.

There was a feeling building deep inside of Natasha, and as if he were aware of it, Loki pulled away from her. Natasha cried out, in surprise and from the loss of him inside of her. ''Not yet,'' he groaned.

Natasha felt his hands on her body again to move her, and she quickly slid her hand beneath the pillow where she had stashed her bounty from the infirmary. She hid it in her palm as he turned her around on the bed so she was on her back again, and he climbed on top of her until their faces were even.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and closed her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. It was soft, and sweet, and for a moment Natasha let herself be lost in it. He sighed against her mouth, and his breath was fresh and cool and made her head dance.

He arched his back until their lower bodies met as well as their mouths, and she gasped as he slipped inside of her again. He matched the rhythm of his mouth, so soft and slow that the mere contrast of it to what they had been doing made her writhe beneath him. His pace quickened shortly after, as they both came together.

Loki moved his mouth from her, and instead pressed his lips to her neck as he sought his breath. He relaxed his body on top of hers, but he supported himself up on his elbows to keep from crushing her. Her skin was sticky and hot beneath his, and the corner of his lip curled when he noticed that even a few long moments after her orgasm she was still twitching from the intensity of it.

Natasha closed her eyes, trying to regain her focus and composure. She had to act fast, before Loki recovered himself and would be much harder to take advantage of.

She used her arms around his neck to press him deeper, closer to her, and she held him fast when he jerked at the sound of the cap being snapped off of the syringe. Natasha jammed the needle into his neck and released the drug into his system, fast and quick like a black widow's bite.

Loki forced her hands away and moved back from her, and from the look he gave her she was afraid he would snap her neck before it even took effect. But after only a moment he sagged against her, his face buried in her hair, and the full weight of him rested on top of the small woman.

She pressed the communicator in her ear, breathless and gasping beneath Loki's weight. ''I have Loki contained... I need assistance... To my location... As soon as possible.''

The doors burst open a short few moments later, and a handful of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents removed Loki and took him from the room. She got dressed quickly in her jumpsuit after she recovered her breath, and went to find the room where Loki was to be kept.

When she entered, it was only Director Fury in the room besides Loki, and she crossed to where the containment cell was stationed. It was a large, circular room, with bright white lights and only a bench for comfort. The walls were made of glass, but she was sure they were reinforced so that even a god would have trouble breaking them.

She ignored Fury and approached the glass, pressing her hands to it and staring at Loki laying limply on the bench. Director Fury came to stand behind her, and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. ''You did well, Agent Romanoff.''

She said nothing in return, and he left the room shortly after.

She stared in at Loki as the full weight of what she had done hit her. She pressed her forehead to the cool glass as hot tears poured down her cheeks, and she fell to her knees before it. Loki looked so calm and peaceful as he slept, not haunted by the truths he had discovered about himself that had uprooted everything he once knew.

She feared what would happen when he awoke, but despite it she would keep her word.

Natasha fell asleep by the edge of the cell, and even when agents came to retrieve her she refused them. At least for that night she would not leave him, so that when he woke to yet another betrayal, he would still not be alone.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha woke a few hours later, and slowly sat up to look into the containment cell. She expected to find Loki still asleep, but she should have known that human drugs would not last very long on a god.

Loki was sitting up on the bench now, his hands clasped together in his lap and his knees spread comfortably and wide. His back was against the glass behind him, and his gaze on the floor. His expression was guarded, but his eyes were as sharp as ever as he looked up to meet hers.

''I'm sorry,'' she said, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

Loki stood slowly up from the bench, his expression still giving away nothing. Natasha tensed despite the barrier between them, and wearily stood up as well. He stepped carefully across the floor, his eyes not breaking from hers for even a moment. She felt fear course through her, and she wondered what exactly the glass between them could withstand.

He stopped when there was only a foot of space between him and the glass. ''You are sorry?'' he asked, rolling the words slowly over his tongue.

She said nothing, and he did not expect an answer.

He raised a hand as if to rest it on the glass, and she saw it trembling by whatever emotion he was keeping trapped inside. He closed his fingers into a fist and lowered his hand again to his side, abandoning the original movement. He smiled, and it was bitter and without humor.

''No, Agent Romanoff,'' he said lowly. ''I assure you, you are not sorry yet.''

''Loki-'' she started, moving closer to the glass.

Loki slammed his fist against the glass in anger and sent her stumbling back in surprise. She fell back and onto her bottom, catching herself on her arms to keep from falling back completely. It was ungraceful, unlike her, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. When she looked back up to Loki, she expected him to look satisfied to have unnerved her so completely, but his anger was still rampant on his expression.

''I will make you so!'' he snarled, so close to the barrier and so intensely that his breath fogged the glass. ''I will make the horrors you faced in the Red Room look like pleasant dreams in comparison to the nightmare your life will become! You have suffered torture here on Midgard, but I have eight other realms worth that I will subject you to!''

Natasha regained her composure and wearily returned to her feet. She did not move toward the cell, not wanting to incite him even further.

''Perhaps I will sew your lips together to keep your silver tongue in check,'' he pondered icily. ''Or chain you to a rock in Franang's Falls where not even the gods can find you and let the snake drip poison like acid upon you for an eternity.''

''Loki-'' she persisted.

''Do not say my name again, you mewling quim!'' he snarled, his face twisting in distaste. ''It is an insult for the name of a god to be uttered by such dirtied lips as yours.''

She winced inwardly at the insult, but pressed closer to the cell in defiance of him.

He dipped his head slightly so that their eyes were level. He was trembling with anger, and she felt her fear return full force though she kept herself carefully composed.

''You made a fool out of me, Agent Romanoff. I will make you pay for such insolence,'' he stated calmly, his voice low and unsteady. His eyes flickered over her face as he spoke, wanting for a reaction like a man in the middle of a desert thirsting for water. ''If I ever were to keep a promise it will be this, that I will not end you quickly. I will draw you to the point where you will beg for death, and then to the point where I have broken you. And even then I will continue, until you are gone and only your body is left, an empty shell of yourself.''

He licked his lips, a quick and taunting movement that sent a shiver down her spine. ''You are frightened, Agent Romanoff? Is it because you fear what I will do to you?'' he asked her. ''Or is it because you fear that someone will strip you down to your barest form and discover you for what you really are?''

''And what is that, Loki?'' she asked, her tone like acid.

''You are nothing.''

She felt tears burn at her eyes, and she backed slowly away from the cell. He did not call after her, did not continue his taunts or his threats. He just let her leave with his words, let her have them to eat at her and torment her until he was free and could do so himself.

* * *

The next week passed slowly and without incident. Loki never tried to break from his cell, and Natasha had nothing to do with her mission completed. The others were to due back from Alaska, where they had successfully managed to push the Frost Giants back. Half of the army would remain behind to enforce the border, but Natasha was excited for the other Avengers to return.

Natasha stubbornly kept her word to Loki, and went down to see him every day in his containment cell. He refused to speak with her, and she saw him grow angrier with each day she showed up.

On the eighth day, just as she was about to go in to see Loki, Director Fury stopped her at the door.

''The others just landed,'' Director Fury informed her. ''They'll be in the debriefing room in fifteen minutes. Make sure you are there as well.''

Natasha nodded sharply and turned away from Loki's door, abandoning her initial destination. Just as they were both about to go their separate ways, footsteps boomed down the far end of the corridor and they both turned to the source of the sound.

Thor was thundering toward them, with Sif and The Warriors Three at his back and a handful of other Asgardians. They were all trying to grab his arms to stop him and calm him down, but he was failing to cooperate.

''Where is my brother?!'' he roared when he reached Director Fury and Natasha.

They did not answer him, and his anger doubled. ''Where is he?!'' he persisted, moving threateningly close. This time they were not given time to answer before another voice sounded.

''Brother?''

Natasha's eyes widened at the voice. Though it was muffled slightly through the glass of the containment cell and the door to the room, the sentiment could still be made out clearly as Loki.

''Brother?!'' Thor cried, shoving past Fury and Natasha and slamming the door open.

Natasha entered the room after Thor, noting how Loki stood by the edge of the cell looking helpless and frail. Despite the words he had last spoken to Thor, he knew the man had too soft a heart and he used it to his advantage.

''You would cage a god like an animal?'' Thor demanded, looking back to Fury.

''He is a hostile force-'' Fury started, but Thor ignored him and turned again for the cage. Natasha's breath caught in her throat when she realized his intention.

Director Fury grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the door. ''Run!'' he commanded.

She did not hesitate further. She shoved past the Asgardians that crowded the door and took off down the hall. She could hear Fury yelling at Thor to try to persuade him not to break the glass and free his brother, but she knew it would be to no avail. She heard the first strike of Mjolnir against the barrier as the door to the stairwell closed behind her.

She booked it up the stairs, her feet flying faster than they ever had before. As she ran she pressed her communicator, fighting for breath enough to speak. ''Tony?'' she gasped.

''I'm here, Tasha,'' he said, his voice a comfort in her ear.

''I need... You to take me... As far away... As possible... Right now.''

There was hesitation, not for lack of wanting to help her, but from shock. ''Y-Yes, of course. Meet me on the landing bay.''

Natasha was only a minute away, but she could hear ice cracking along her path, itching for her. She worried how Director Fury and the others were faring with Loki free, but she knew they could take care of themselves. They were not his target, after all.

She made it through the facility in record time, and burst through the door leading out to the landing bay. Tony saw her and ran for her, just as the trail of ice finally caught her and ate up her leg.

She spun around and drew the gun from her waist, blasting the ice apart and freeing her leg. But it stalled her enough for it to catch her again, and this time she fell. It started to eat up her side and her arm, and the ice was so cold it burned her.

Tony was there the next moment, blasting the ice apart and picking her up from the ground. The ice attempted to eat up the metal of Tony's leg, but he blasted off in time to avoid it. He ascending into the air with Natasha clasped tightly in his metal arms, with no destination in mind besides far, far away.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations

* * *

They ended in London. There was a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house there that Natasha had used during a mission, and they both deemed it safe for her to hide out in for a while. Tony stayed with her until she managed to thaw out completely, but left when Director Fury ordered his return.

Natasha pulled a blanket tight around her shoulders and carefully sipped the coffee that Tony had started brewing before he left, grateful for the warmth it provided her. She opened the laptop on the table in front of her and it connected securely with Director Fury. His image appeared on the screen, his face drawn and grave.

''Loki disappeared,'' he informed her. ''We were unable to contain him. Half of the facility is under ice. He took out three Asgardians and fourteen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.''

There was a long pause before she responded, and he allowed her the moment to process the information.

''Am I to locate him again?'' she asked finally, her voice weary.

Director Fury sighed. ''It doesn't matter where he is now. He has a destination. When I sent you after him before, he was only a wild card.''

She swallowed hard, surprised at the fear that flowed through her. ''You want me to keep him distracted while you handle Laufey and the Frost Giants.''

He nodded sharply. ''He's out for blood, Agent Romanoff. This is a dangerous request.''

''Request?'' she asked caustically, her eyebrow raising in mock surprise. ''I am allowed to say no?''

Director Fury did not respond. She pressed her lips into a tight line, but did not object. ''Keeping him busy with you will keep him from turning against us. It will buy us time to defeat the Frost Giants without having to worry about him as well. When we are finished with them, we will take care of Loki.''

Anger burned inside of her. ''That could be weeks! Months even!''

''You have played cat and mouse before,'' Director Fury reminded her.

''I usually have a dog waiting around the corner to bail me out if I happen to be caught by the cat,'' she countered. ''If he catches me I am as good as dead.''

''You're the most capable to handle him.''

''I am very aware of my capabilities,'' Natasha snarled at him. ''But I have exhausted my skill set against him. My strength is not a match for his. An ant can't compete with a boot.''

''Do not sell yourself short, Agent Romanoff.''

''I am being realistic,'' she replied calmly, though her voice still trembled with anger. ''The second he catches me, this will turn from a distraction into a suicide mission.''

''Don't let him catch you,'' Director Fury stated simply. ''Good luck, Agent Romanoff.''

The screen went black, and Natasha slammed the lid of the laptop shut. She bent her knee to her chest and kicked the table over in anger, before closing her eyes to the sound of the laptop cracking and the glass top of the table shattering against the hardwood floor. She put her face in her hands and sighed, before running them back and through her hair.

It would be a few days before Loki found her in London. For others she would give them a few weeks, but he was much smarter than most who came after her. She looked through the apartment to see what supplies she would need to pick up for her stay and wrote up a list.

She changed into civilian clothes before she left the apartment, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a modern light brown jacket with matching boots. She dawned a pair of sunglasses with large lenses to hide her face, and quickly slipped out the front door.

* * *

Only the first few hours would be safe for her to leave, and she would need to make sure she gathered all of the supplies she would need in that one venture. It would be too risky to leave the apartment twice.

There was a small market a block away from her apartment, and she blended in with the people on the street as if she had walked those streets all of her life. When she made it to the market she flashed a friendly smile at the young man behind the register and grabbed a basket to carry her items.

She grabbed basic toiletries and food that would not spoil. As she headed toward the counter to purchase her items, she stalled by the aisle of feminine products and bit her lip. She reached forward and took a pregnancy test from the rack, and thought for a long moment before putting it into the basket. She was only two days late on her cycle, but even that was enough to unnerve her.

She pushed her concerns aside and set her basket on the counter. The young man behind it glanced up at her, before doing a double take and flashing her a charming smile. She gave him a small one back, and looked away as he scanned the rest of her items and bagged them. She paid quickly and made her way back to her apartment.

Once inside, she busied herself by putting all the items away in the cupboards and under the sink in the bathroom. She set the pregnancy test on the kitchen counter and abandoned it there. She shed her civilian clothes and sat on the couch in her bra and underwear, taking to cleaning her guns so that there would be no problems when it came time to use them.

She heard the laptop beep on the floor in front of her, and she saw it had landed open after she had kicked the table over. She accepted the call and felt a smile pull at her lips when she saw all of her fellow Avengers gathered in front of the camera. Steve at the front started to speak, but when he noticed Natasha was shirtless, he blushed and ducked away.

She laughed and pulled a blanket over herself, and Tony mumbled his displeasure toward Steve when he returned in front of the screen. His cheeks were still burning when he looked at her, and he had to clear his throat before he spoke. ''Agent Romanoff, we heard about your mission.''

''We just wanted to let you know we are here,'' Clint inserted.

''Well, we're at headquarters,'' Tony corrected him. ''But we will be where you are in a second if you are in trouble.''

''Just let _us_ know,'' Bruce said, smirking at the double meaning of his words.

''Thank you,'' she said softly. ''All of you.'' It was not lost on any of them that it was likely she would die. And even though the Avengers were newly established and they hadn't had a lot of time together, they were still sad at the thought of losing her.

They talked for a short while before Director Fury called them away. She closed the laptop slowly and sat there for a long time, engulfed in her own thoughts. When finally she stood from the couch, she swiped the pregnancy test from the counter and locked herself in the bathroom.

* * *

Natasha returned to the living room while she waited for the test to come out. She flipped on the news on the television and listened to the weather man drone on about the bright and sunny sky outside. Just as she was about to switch it to a different station, the weather man was interrupted by an urgent broadcast.

She felt her chest grow tight when they showed a picture of Big Ben encased in ice. The news reporter spoke urgently of half of the city being subject to a sudden ice storm, and the estimated toll of people frozen in its wake.

Natasha's eyes widened in horror, and she scrambled for her jumpsuit.

It was too fast. Too soon. She should have had days at least, not hours before Loki found her.

She slipped her guns into their holsters and zipped the jumpsuit up to her breast. Just before she made for the door, she risked a glance back toward the discarded pregnancy test on the couch with the results on its face, wanting to go back for it. Instead, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

She expected the brilliant London sky to greet her, but instead she was met with black leather and blue skin and blood red eyes that held the promise of pain.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations

* * *

Before Natasha could react, Loki struck her across the temple with the blunt end of his scepter and sent her straight into the floor. She grunted as she hit the ground, and she sought unsuccessfully to blink past the fog that now blurred the edges of her vision. She rolled over onto her back so she could look up at him, and she lifted herself onto her elbows, using them to slide her body away from Loki. The movement was slow, and clumsy, and when she gave up the notion of getting away she stilled.

Loki was standing before her in all of his Asgardian glory. His armor was changed, and a horned helmet sat upon his head. She knew he meant for it to be intimidating, and to her disdain it was working.

He quietly shut the door behind himself as he entered the small apartment, and though his face was calm she could see his anger still brimming just beneath his skin.

''How did you find me?'' she asked him, her voice wearied by her injury.

''My powers leave a signature,'' he answered her blankly. ''I merely followed the trail you left.''

She slowly struggled to sit up, using the edge of the couch at her back as a crutch. Her head spun and her stomach started to turn, but she suppressed the urge to get sick. Normally a blow would not disarm her so successfully, but it was not often she was struck by a god.

''Will you allow me to defend myself?'' she asked him, her voice quiet as if not to set him off. ''To explain my actions?''

''Let me ask a question in return, and let the answer serve as your own,'' he said, stepping carefully toward her. ''Do you think me fool enough to believe any word that passes through your poison lips?''

Her jaw tightened, her own anger surfacing. ''You seemed to quite enjoy my poison lips,'' she drawled, and her breath caught when the blade of the scepter was at her throat the next moment.

''One does not often know the water is poisoned before he takes a sip,'' Loki replied calmly. ''Though I doubt many survive to learn the lesson of it as I have.''

Her silence was confirmation.

She swept her legs out quickly, knocking his feet out from under him. She knocked the scepter aside a moment before it would have plunged into her throat, and she rolled away to put distance between them. The second she was upright again, she swayed and fell to her knees. She put her hand to the floor to catch herself, and hissed when her palm was cut by the broken glass on the floor.

She could not recover fast enough to escape from Loki as he grabbed her arm and ripped her off of the floor. She heard more than felt her arm dislocate at the shoulder, still trying to fight past the dizziness that sought to consume her. He tossed her back to the floor again, taunting her with his superior strength.

She caught herself against the couch, though her bare knees cut against the glass on the floor. There was blood smeared all over the hardwood, and her shoulder was already beginning to purple and bruise.

She stared up at Loki as she waited for him to continue his assault. His expression was cold as he gazed down at her, and she could not help but admit that she deserved whatever he would do to her. She had taken advantage of him while he was weak, manipulated him while he was frightened and lost. She had used her skill set against an innocent, something she had not done since she was in Russia, and the guilt weighed heavy on her heart.

''What is that?'' Loki asked her, his voice strained slightly with an emotion unknown to her. She saw his eyes had moved away from her, to the cushion of the couch adjacent to her head. She turned in order to follow his gaze, and her eyes widened when they landed upon the pregnancy test.

Very clearly, very boldly, the test flashed ''PREGNANT'' across the screen.

* * *

''You are with child?'' Loki asked slowly, his surprise breaking through his anger.

Natasha swallowed hard as she stared at the small screen. Part of her begged for it to change, knowing how it would end. Part of her knew this was the only way she would not die on this day.

Her hand shook as she reached up and clasped the stick in her hand, bringing it around to the front of her and resting her hands limply in her lap.

Loki was frozen before her in shock, and when he did finally move she did not register it until she felt the sofa beside her depress. Loki put his face in his hands and let out a long breath, before removing his helmet and running his hand through his hair. ''There has never been a more fortunate person than you at this moment,'' he said bluntly, speaking the words she already knew to be true aloud.

They sat in silence for a long time before Natasha finally broke it.

''I am sorry, Loki,'' she said softly. She turned to look at him, but he kept his face away. ''I was ordered to bring you in by any means necessary. I should have refused.''

''You cannot refuse. It is not in your nature,'' he said. Though the words were cruel, they were not said cruelly. Loki looked over to her, and his face was impossible to read. ''I am the God of Mischief, yet it seems everyone is getting the better of me at my own game. First my father...'' he drew in his breath like a hiss, as if the words had hurt. ''First Odin. And then you.''

''I am not especially proud of my skill set,'' she said to him with a bitter smile. ''I would gladly use a different tactic if I had another to use.''

''I think perhaps I would find it charming if I had not been the target,'' Loki said lowly, but a small smile played on his lips.

His smile faltered after a moment, and his face grew grim as a thought occurred to him. ''Is the child mine?'' he asked her, his eyes flickering over her face. She looked back down to the pregnancy test in her lap, and her lips pressed into a tight line as she nodded.

Loki sat there for a long moment, absorbing this truth. He stood slowly from the couch, and the glass crunched beneath his boots as he moved to stand in front of Natasha. He reached down and lifted her from her station beside the couch, and carried her into the kitchen. He set her carefully onto the counter, and silently surveyed the damage he had done to her.

He returned a short few moments later and knelt in front of her. She hissed as he removed glass shards from her knees and her palm, and bit her tongue when he poured antiseptic over the wounds. His face remained guarded and expressionless through the whole process, and his tongue still behind his lips.

She closed her eyes when he jerked her shoulder back into the socket, and though the pain was short, Natasha cried out and leaned forward into Loki's shoulder for support afterward. He was tense and rigid under her touch, and when she moved away again, her chest was heavy and her body was encased in a fine sheen of sweat.

Loki's eyes flitted over her, and he wearily set his hands on her thighs. The cold of them made her shiver, but it was a relief from the heat of her own body.

''My child...'' he said to himself, his eyes downcast on her belly, his voice barely above a whisper. His hands skimmed up her thighs, and while one hand settled on her waist, the other ventured to the back of her neck and tangled in her fire hair. He looked up to meet her gaze, and she was not surprised by the dark gleam of his eyes.

It was a very human reaction, a very male reaction, to the knowledge that he had impregnated her. If she was not caught in his eyes, perhaps she would have rolled her own. But she was captivated by the look, and that thought sent a spike of fear coursing through her.

She started to move closer but he held her in place, though his body was screaming at him to let her continue her advance. She could see the struggle on his face to keep her at bay, and she did not fear for a moment that he would deny her.

''I will not come back with you,'' he said, and though he was breathless the words were strong.

''Okay,'' she said, starting to press forward but again finding herself restrained.

''This will not be another one of your tricks,'' he asserted.

''Okay,'' she answered again, and this time he let her move close and slide her hands around his body. He grunted when she pulled his hair and pressed her lips to the small sliver of skin that peaked out from the collar of his leather coat.

''Nothing has changed,'' he persisted, and this time she did not answer him because they both knew that it was a lie.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Loki forced Natasha's thighs apart with his hips, and she wrapped them obligingly around his waist. He lifted her up and off of the counter, and walked her back to the couch. He sat down on the plush cushions and she straddled his waist, and she pulled her lips away from his neck to look into his eyes. He moaned from the loss, and his breath was sharp when her hips twitched on his lap.

''All the tricks, all the manipulations,'' she whispered, and she let him see the regret on her face. ''Let me make it up to you.''

He pressed his lips into a tight line, and closed his eyes when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. He was only vaguely aware of her hands smoothing over his chest, his mind too absorbed by her hot breath on his cheek. It was shockingly intense, almost overwhelmingly intimate.

He willed his clothes away, and he reveled in Natasha's gasp against his ear. Her hands left his chest to remove her bra, and he loved the feel of the rough lace of her underwear against his groin as her hips twitched a second time. He smoothed his hands over her small waist, over the soft curve of her back as she kissed the sensitive skin behind his ear.

His eyes only opened when she started to ease her body onto his, and he held her as her body trembled. He drew her closer in to his body, until her breasts were flush with his chest and her lips brushed his jaw. His lips parted and he brought in a sharp breath when he was fully sheathed inside of her, and she held on fast to him until her body adjusted.

The first roll of her hips brought a moan from his lips, and her grip in his hair tightened as she moved her body over his. He tried to move with her but she gave him a warning bite on his neck and he stopped. He relaxed back on the couch and spread his legs comfortably wide, forcing her legs further apart and allowing him to penetrate her deeper.

She cried out in surprise but continued her tantalizingly slow movement above him, and he leaned his upper body back so he could watch her. Every time her body lowered onto his own and he met the end of her, her breasts would bounce ever so slightly on her chest. As mesmerizing at it was, once he brought his eyes up to her face he found he could not bring himself to look away again.

Her eyes were narrowed and her brow furrowed in concentration, and every now and then she would wince when he would press too deeply inside of her. She was quiet except for the soft gasps that escaped her lips, and her eyes were beautiful and intense as she gazed at him.

His hands smoothed down to rest on her hips, and his grip was gentle but strong. He felt her rhythm falter slightly, and a small cry escape her lips as she neared her end, and the expression on her face was too much for him to handle.

Her hands trembled against his chest as he tightened his grip on her waist and thrust roughly inside of her. Her own movement stilled and he moved instead, entering her sharply and quickly and bringing her to orgasm. He groaned as he came inside of her, and at the end of his own orgasm he pulled her in close and kissed her gently.

He pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around them both. He turned his body so he was laying on the couch with her beside him, their lips still softly pressed together. He slipped his arm around her back so that his forearm lay flush against it and his palm wrapped around her shoulder from behind, and he pressed her close. When she pulled away her eyes were heavy and tired, and she tucked her face against his bare chest and fell instantly to sleep.

* * *

Natasha woke a few hours later when she felt something cold brush across her breast. She opened her eyes to find herself flat on her back on the couch, with Loki tucked against her side with his head in the crook of her arm. The blanket was pushed down to her hips, and his hand was skimming lightly over her chest. His gaze was not lustful, but he observed her with an expression that made her feel beautiful.

When he noticed she was awake, his hand fell lower to rest on her stomach. His face was instantly guarded, but his eyes looked as bright as she had ever seen them.

An odd shimmer of light on the back of the couch above Loki's head caught her eye, and she bowed her back to look behind her for the source. She found it to be Loki's golden helmet, and she wriggled from his arms enough to reach up and touch it.

Loki kept his arm draped loosely around her, giving her a questioning expression.

''I like the horns,'' she said, her fingers dancing over the smooth metal.

Loki chuckled lightly, and Natasha's eyes flickered to him. ''Thor often tells me I resemble a goat,'' he said with a smirk. ''Though I prefer looking like a goat to looking like a bird.''

She smiled at that, but it never had time to reach her eyes. It faltered almost as quickly as it had come, and Loki's eyes were weary as they met hers. ''Thor cares for you.''

''Natasha,'' Loki warned, his face showing his irritation.

''I'm not asking you to come back,'' she said. ''But if that is a factor keeping you away, you don't need to doubt his affection for you.''

Loki sat up, clearly frustrated with her. She turned and leaned her back against the arm of the couch, her legs draped over Loki's lap though he refused to touch her. ''Thor is a child,'' he sneered. ''He has many lessons yet to learn before he can understand my situation enough to truly care.''

''He will learn,'' she persisted.

Loki shot her a glare. He forced her legs off of his own and stood from the couch. His clothes reappeared as he did, and he spun around again to face her. ''I think perhaps the more pressing concern is that the moment I walk back into that facility I will be indisposed of. I have killed some of your agents. I have killed innocent people.''

''You would be imprisoned,'' she said honestly.

Loki pressed his lips into a hard line.

Natasha stood from the couch and wrapped the blanket around herself like a poorly fitted dress. She stepped carefully around the broken glass, until she was standing in front of Loki. ''So what do you plan to do?'' she asked. ''Do you plan to hide until the war is over and you can return to Asgard?''

Loki was silent, and he was not able to conceal the lost expression that came over his face before she saw it. ''I do not think I would be welcome in Asgard.''

''You are still a prince,'' she said. ''You are still Odin's son.''

''I am not Odin's son!'' he snarled at her, and she suppressed the urge to recoil away from him. ''And that fact is secret no longer. It is not as if I can return home and continue the lie.''

She sighed softly, and reached up to touch his face. He closed his eyes at the feel of her touch, and he turned his face to sigh against her palm.

''Would you not think me a monster?'' he asked her. ''If I were to return to Asgard and abandon my child?''

He opened his eyes when he heard her breath catch, and her hand fell from his face and to her belly. Before she could respond, the computer beeped across the living room, and she put her finger to her lips to keep Loki quiet before going to answer.

She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and lifted the lid of the laptop. The screen flickered to life, revealing Director Fury and her fellow Avengers on the screen.

''Are you alright, Agent Romanoff?'' Steve asked. ''We were on our way to Alaska to push the Frost Giants back toward the United States when it came to our attention that Loki attacked London.''

''We would have contacted you sooner, but with all the ice storms the communication lines have been down,'' Tony informed her. ''Are you safe? Did Loki find you?''

''I'm safe. Loki found me, but I was able to calm him down. I don't know where he is now,'' she lied, and she suppressed the urge to look toward Loki to see his reaction.

''He killed a lot of people, Nat,'' Clint told her. ''He needs to be taken down.''

''Agent Barton is right, but we have more important concerns right now,'' Director Fury stated. ''We need you to suit up and meet us in Alaska.''

''Understood,'' Natasha said. The connection died and Natasha shut the computer, before setting it aside and looking to Loki.

He was silent for a long moment before he spoke. ''Why did you lie?'' he asked her wearily.

She moved slowly across the floor to him, and came to a stop a few inches away. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, and he kept his eyes locked on hers as he waited for her answer. ''You have a lot to process right now,'' she said honestly. ''You deserve some time to be lost in order to find yourself again.''

''Thank you,'' he whispered, so quietly she nearly missed it.

She moved away and disappeared into the bedroom to get ready. She took a quick shower and packed a small bag, before dawning her jumpsuit and returning to the living room. Loki was still sitting on the couch when she entered, the pregnancy test sitting beside him on the couch along with his Asgardian helmet.

He did not move as she approached him, nor did he respond when she brushed a soft kiss to his lips. She picked up her bag and escaped out the door, leaving Loki alone and consumed by his own thoughts.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please continue reading and reviewing!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

When Natasha landed in Alaska, they were all there waiting for her. Clint was ready with a heavy S.H.I.E.L.D. issue jacket for her, and he wrapped it around her when she stepped out of her aircraft and into the biting cold. She would abandon it when they actually engaged in battle, but it was much appreciated while they were stationary.

Director Fury nodded to her, and Tony slipped his arm around her shoulders. ''I'm glad you weren't turned into a human popsicle,'' he said to her with an arrogant smile.

She shoved his arm off and shot him a dark glare. ''Nice to see you too, Tony.''

She looked around at the others, before noticing their Asgardian comrades were missing.

''Where are Thor and the others?'' she asked with a frown.

Tony smirked. ''Back at headquarters. A pretty little scientist appears to have caught Thor's eye.''

''What?'' she asked, thoroughly confused.

''Agent Coulson found a small group of scientists snooping around the site where the Asgardians came down and brought them in,'' Steve explained. ''The lead scientist is named Jane Foster.''

''She was already suspicious of the existence of other realms,'' Bruce extended. ''Once the Asgardians arrived, she had her proof. Thor agreed to stay back and answer some of her questions, and she and her colleague Erik Selvig agreed to cooperate fully with S.H.I.E.L.D. in return.''

''This was all in the short time I was gone?'' she asked.

''S.H.I.E.L.D. moves fast,'' Clint remarked.

''Thor moves fast,'' Tony added slyly.

''The transport plane is waiting for us,'' Director Fury stated, bringing their attention back to the war at hand. They fell in line behind him as he headed toward the plane. ''The Asgardian army is going to make a wall around the Alaskan border and push forward. We're going to start at the middle and push them toward Canada to keep them from conglomerating. They'll be much easier to cut through if they are spread out.''

They boarded the cargo area of the plane and quickly took their seats. Natasha secured the belts around her chest and waist and locked herself safely in place, watching as her fellow Avengers did the same. There was no more talking, only silence as the engine roared and they prepared themselves for battle.

* * *

Loki did not move for days after Natasha left him in the apartment. He did not move until the lingering feel of her lips against his was gone and his body had gone completely numb. It was such a strange feeling, to not feel anything when he was so accustomed to so many different emotions swirling around inside of himself all at once.

When he did finally move, it was to turn his head to look at the two items beside him. He clasped his hands slowly together and placed his elbows on his knees, before leaning forward and pressing his lips to his joined knuckles. His eyes were all for his golden helmet as it gleaming tauntingly in the soft light of the room.

He reached for it tentatively, and slowly lowered it onto his head. It's placement brought with it memories of the past. Once upon a time the memories that plagued him would have been happy ones, but now they were dark and tainted with his father's lies.

Could he return to Asgard? He would have to pay for his crimes, but once he did, would he be able to walk from whatever dark, dank cell he was promised to with his head held high? Would he be held with less regard, or would the people of Asgard have to give him the small respect the glorious horns on his head demanded?

He wondered these things idly, of course. He was humoring himself. He knew that if he were to return to Asgard, his prison cell would be a sanctuary, a safe house from his fellow Asgardians. They would surely come after him with fire and pitchforks, seeking his Frost Giant head.

He reached next for the pregnancy test, and the plastic felt small and breakable in his hands. He had never thought of being a father before he discovered that Natasha was pregnant with his child, and the truth of it had yet to truly strike him. The women in Asgard had little to do with him, and found their way to his bed only by means of tricks or rejection by Thor. It had never even been a possibility, or even a distant hope.

It would be half Frost Giant. Nine months was a short time for him to completely embrace that part of himself in order to greet the child with open, loving arms. Would he hate it as much as he hated himself? Would he never be able to love it? There was also the fact that it was half human, but if the child turned out to be anything like its mother he would love that part of it.

That thought surprised Loki, that he regarded Natasha with such respect. She had manipulated him and used him and taken advantage of him while he was weak. But she had perfected the art that he had fathered and he could not hate her for it.

He tried to suppress thoughts of Natasha, but they rolled over him and flowed through him and consumed him. He felt a twinge in his heart when he thought of her away and fighting across the continent, but he knew she could take care of herself.

Loki tucked the pregnancy test into the breast pocket of his jacket, and reached up to take off the helmet. He still was at a loss for what he would do, his options were few, but he knew no matter what he decided it would include the child. He swore to himself that he would give it the childhood that he never truly had, one of truth and fairness and uncompromised love.

The door suddenly burst open, and before Loki could react he felt large hands twisting themselves in his collar. He looked up to see Thor looming above him, with Sif and The Warriors Three lingering back in the doorway across the room.

He allowed the scepter to appear in his hand and he brought it up across Thor's face, putting distance between them. The others started to move forward, but Thor waved his hand to keep them back.

''You are clever, Loki,'' Thor said slowly. ''You know as well as I that you will not walk away from this fight. It is a fight of strength, not of cunning. You have to pay for your crimes.''

''Why are you not in Alaska?'' Loki demanded. ''You are letting the humans fight your war for you?''

''I was handling another situation. I was to join them after, but I was asked to look for you instead,'' Thor answered him.

''You are an errand boy for the humans now?'' Loki taunted.

''You are my responsibility.''

''No, I am not,'' Loki countered incredulously, raising his eyebrows. ''I am not your brother. You have no more obligation to me than any human walking the street outside.''

''Loki, enough of this madness,'' Thor rumbled. ''You killed hundreds of people.''

''You say that as if you care for the humans,'' Loki sneered.

Thor swallowed hard, his face serious and sure. ''A lot has changed these past few days, my brother. I have changed.''

Loki just shook his head, his tongue turning sourly behind his lips. ''You are no more capable of change than a rock.''

''I assure you that I have,'' Thor said. He took a slow step forward, and Loki eyed the movement suspiciously. He stood his ground stubbornly. ''I understand that you are going through a difficult time, but you do not have to go through it alone. Perhaps we are not related by blood, but you are my brother. We were raised together, we played together, we fought together!''

Loki felt tears welling at his eyes in response to those gathering in Thor's, but he did not know if they were from sadness or from anger.

''You understand?'' he snarled. ''Do you expect me to believe that you have changed in these last few days to the extent that you could even possibly begin to comprehend all that I am going through? Thor, the golden child, the true son of Odin. You always knew you were better, and you treated me poorly because of it. So forgive me if I do not instantly embrace this supposed change.''

''We do not have time for this,'' Sif inserted, stepping to Thor's side. ''We are in the middle of a war and he is throwing a tantrum.''

''I must bring you back with me, Loki,'' Thor said carefully, turning sad eyes to Loki, his expression grim. ''I will allow the humans to hold you until the war is over and we can return to Asgard together. We will decide the punishment for your transgressions then.''

Loki tensed when his brother moved forward again, and Thor knew he would not return easily. He waved his hand and the others spilled forward, surrounding the mischief maker.

The Warriors Three caught his arms, and Sif secured a set of magically sealed handcuffs around his wrists. He was forced down to his knees before Thor, and he hissed as the glass on the floor cut into his flesh. Thor reached up and removed the horned helmet from Loki's head and set it aside, before producing a piece of metal that Loki did not recognize immediately.

When he did, he struggled and writhed in the steel grips of the others, trying his hardest to break free as Thor took hold of his chin. He fitted the muzzle over Loki's mouth and secured it at the nape of his neck, and his face burned in humiliation.

Thor turned his back to Loki as if he could not bear the sight any longer, and strode from the apartment. Sif started after him, with Loki being dragged at her heel.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Loki spent two months in the containment cell in the basement of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. It had taken two weeks to push the Frost Giants over the border into the United States, and another four to get them secluded to the west coast. In the last two weeks, they had managed to push them into New Mexico so that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were fighting near home.

Loki only saw Natasha twice in that period of time, when she would return with her team to refresh from the battles. The breaks would last a few days, and she would leave her room each night to visit him.

There was a significant difference in Natasha between the two visits. During the first, she had been glowing and vibrant and beautiful, though slightly wearied by the battles. In the month between visits, her belly had begun to swell just in the slightest, and morning sickness had set in. She was still beautiful when she came to see him, but her body was tired and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

They did not speak much when she came to see him at first. She would only inform him about the progress of the war, or entertain him with small stories about her fellow Avengers. He would tell her about Asgard, and ask questions about the baby. There was always a tension during her visits, that had a little to do with the thick glass of the containment cell between them and a lot to do with their unsettled feelings for one another.

After she told him that Thor had officially become a part of the Avengers, he did not care to listen to any more stories. The visits after were spent in complete silence.

It was at the end of the two months that Loki heard the guards stationed at the door across the room from his cell say that the Avengers were returning. His brow furrowed in confusion at this news, wondering what had cut their most recent battle short. They were nearing the end of the war with the Frost Giants, they had Laufey cornered in New Mexico, it would be a mistake to lessen up the pressure now.

A few moments later his inquiry was answered. The door opened and the guards moved aside to allow Thor through. Natasha and the other Avengers spilled through after him, followed by Director Fury and Agent Coulson. It was apparent from their pace that they were in a rush, for reasons not yet known to him.

Loki said nothing, just clasped his hands formally behind his back and stood stationary at the center of the cell. He saw the guards by the door shiver slightly and look away from him, and he suppressed an arrogant smirk.

He had gone through a number of guards while he was imprisoned. It was apparent from the words he caught of their hushed comments that they did not respect him, so he made sure they learned from their mistake. Thor was foolish in taking away the muzzle while he was in his cell, as he put his silver tongue to work.

It surprised him how easily the human mind could break beneath his manipulations, but he had seen many Asgardians fall to it so the surprise did not last long. The guards had been rotated out so many times over the past two months that Loki had lost count of how many minds he had broken.

''Laufey has disappeared with the Casket,'' Thor informed him gravely, approaching the glass.

''We were closing in on him, and he escaped with a handful of others,'' Director Fury explained hurriedly. ''We expect he intends to go to Asgard to kill Odin.''

''An act of desperation in his time of defeat,'' Thor extended. ''I will stop him.''

''How does this concern me?'' Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.

Thor hesitated, but with the urgency of the situation he forced the words out. ''I am transporting you to Asgard. I have been informed of your mischief here with the guards, so you will be held in Asgard until Laufey is stopped and the war is over.''

''It should have been obvious from the beginning that I would be too much for them to handle,'' Loki said to him lowly. ''You seem to have changed, but only so much. You continue to underestimate me even now.''

''I admit to that mistake,'' Thor said, before motioning for Director Fury to open the cell.

Natasha moved to stand at Thor's side, and Loki was struck again with how clever she was. It would have been so easy to break away from Thor and get away, but with Natasha there he would not risk her being harmed in the process. His eyes narrowed at her and though her face remained blank, he saw just the slightest flash of arrogance in her eyes.

The door opened and Thor moved forward, with Natasha sharp on his heel. Loki did not fight Thor, but he did not cooperate either as Thor fastened the magically enforced shackles around his wrists. It was when the muzzle appeared once again in Thor's hands that Loki started to pull away, despite the grip Thor held fast on his bindings.

Steve and Clint started to move into the cell to help restrain him, but Natasha beat them to it. She moved forward and he instantly stilled, and she gently brushed her fingers through his hair to keep him calm. He looked away to hide his shame from her as Thor fastened the muzzle in place over his mouth.

There was snickering across the room, and Loki's grip was quick as a snake to grab Natasha's wrist as she moved to reprimand the guards. She nodded shortly and pulled her hand away, before calmly exiting the cell and moving past the guards without confronting them. Her fellow Avengers were watching after her, shocked that she had been able to tame Loki so easily, but they didn't know the truth of the situation.

Loki complied with Thor as they made their way to the vehicle that would transport them to the site where they would leave for Asgard. Once they arrived at their destination, Thor led Loki from the car and to the place where the Asgardian symbol was still embedded in the ground.

''Heimdall, open the Bifrost!'' Thor commanded, once he and Loki and the others were in place. The army would follow shortly after, but there would be no time wasted to get Thor to Asgard to save his father.

Thor looked to his fellow Avengers. ''Prepare yourselves.''

The warning came too late, of course. They could not prepare themselves for something like that.

The Asgardians landed easily and steadily on the ground, while the others went flying in different directions. Loki barely managed to grab Natasha's upper arm in time to keep her from tumbling to the floor, and he winced as the shackles cut against his skin from the strain.

Bruce writhed on the ground as Hulk fought to get free, angered by the disturbing transportation. Tony looked as green as the skin that threatened to overcome Bruce, and Steve and Clint were choking and gasping against the cold tile floor.

Once the Avengers had recovered enough to move, they followed wearily after Thor and the others as they left the Bifrost and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. The others seemed to shake off their initial displeasure and enjoy the incredible sight before them. Asgard was brilliant and luminous and beautiful, a sight not to be taken for granted.

Only Natasha seemed to not fully appreciate the sight, as she was still struggling against the nausea of the trip. It appeared to be triggering the already vicious morning sickness, and Loki was gazing down at her with concern evident in his eyes. One hand gripped at his arm to keep herself up, and the other clutched at the small swell of her belly.

Bruce was still winded from fighting off the Hulk, but he increased his pace to reach Natasha's side. He dislodged her from Loki's arm and pulled her back and away from the others to make sure she was alright.

He was the only one who knew of her pregnancy. She had confided in him one day when they were back at headquarters between battles with the Frost Giants, and asked him to perform an ultrasound to make sure the baby was alright. It was not his specialty, but he agreed and didn't ask any questions.

By the time they made it to the palace he had helped her talk through the nausea. She flashed him a grateful smile and moved away from him, before regaining her composure and increasing her pace to rejoin the others.

The palace was grand, decorated in all golds and reds and whites. They did not have a lot of time to process all of it before they were rushed away to Odin's chambers by Thor. They were lost in a maze of intricate corridors, and when they finally reached their destination the doors were already ajar, and the guards were missing from their stations at the door.

Ice glazed the floor and the frame of the door, and it was very apparent that Laufey had wasted no time to go for the king. A blood curdling scream came through from the room, and they broke into a full out sprint to get into the room before it was too late.

* * *

Author's Note: There's probably about two chapters left for this story. The conclusion will be pretty swift, but hopefully satisfying. Please keep reading and reviewing until the very end!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

It appeared they had made it just in time. Thor's mother, Frigga, stood at the base of the bed where Odin lay in Odinsleep, grasping his powerful staff in her hands to ward off the looming swarm of Frost Giants. They had not yet attacked, giving the Avengers and the Asgardians the opportunity to save Odin and Frigga both.

Their entrance drew the immediate attention of the Frost Giants, and at least three dozen heads turned in their direction. Laufey's head did not turn, his eyes locked on his goal.

Frigga took the opportunity to blast one of the distracted Frost Giants with the spear, and as he crumbled and shattered, Laufey struck her viciously to the ground.

''Mother!'' Thor cried, running forward.

The others followed suit, all except Loki, who was bound and defenseless. He saw Thor go to their mother's side, and the others engage the Frost Giants in battle. His eyes sought out Natasha, and found her easily by her flaming red hair. Despite her predicament, she fought as swiftly and elegantly as ever.

Loki saw a Frost Giant moving up slowly behind her. She was too busy incapacitating two others to notice. Loki's eyes widened and he rushed forward. He was bound, but not completely useless.

He kicked the back of the knee of the Frost Giant and he collapsed onto his knee. A blade of ice formed over his hand, and Loki moved back just in time to avoid the blow, and he brought his hands up to expose the length of chain between them.

The blade of ice broke the chain easily, freeing Loki's hands and his magic. He ripped the muzzle from his face, and his scepter appeared in his hand the next moment. He brought it down across the Frost Giant's face, and it shattered and died. He looked up to see Natasha staring at him, and he flashed her a wicked smile.

''No!'' Thor's cry rumbled over them all, and every hand in the room stilled and froze as they looked toward where the God of Thunder stood. He was at the base of the bed, and Laufey was at the side of it, the blade of his hand an inch from Odin's throat. While he was distracted, a group of Frost Giants surrounded Thor, giving Laufey the opportunity to savor his kill.

Loki looked to Natasha, but found the space where she had been vacant. His eyes frantically searched the room for her, but he failed to locate her.

Laufey bent over the bed, and with his free hand pulled open Odin's heavy eyelid. ''It is said that you can still hear and see what transpires around you. I hope it is true,'' he said breathlessly, his voice as cold as the ice that seeped through his veins.

''So that you will know your death came at the hand of Laufey.''

Just as he moved to bring the blade the rest of the way down, Natasha was upon him. She twisted her body around his, sending him tumbling away from Odin's bed and back onto his heels. She dug her knife into his neck, and he cried out in anger and in pain. He ripped her away by her arm, grabbed her by her neck and smiled.

When her skin did not burn beneath his touch, his smile faded. Confusion laced his features, but before he could inquire about the reason behind her tolerance, she drew her gun with her free hand and shot him in the face. He screamed and threw her aside, clutching at the half of his face that was no longer there.

Natasha hit the floor hard and tumbled along the cold tiles. She cried out, and when she came to a stop, she curled in on herself and clutched at her slightly swollen stomach.

''No!'' Loki screamed, running forward and falling to his knees at her side. His hands shook as they fluttered over her body, and she struggled onto her hands and knees. They gave out beneath her, and Loki caught her as she fell back down. He eased her onto the floor, his eyes wide in shock as he looked up from her to Laufey.

''I understand now,'' Laufey said, a smirk playing on the half of his face that was still intact. ''Why she did not burn under my hand. She carries a Frost Giant child.''

Loki said nothing, just swallowed hard as he forced himself to stand and leave Natasha on the floor.

''It is a pity that it will be even more of a disappointment than its father.''

''I am a disappointment?'' Loki asked, though his tone meant it was not a question to be answered. ''Laufey. Father.''

The room was frozen and silent behind him, letting the scene play out before them without interruption. Loki twisted his scepter in his hand, and Laufey eyed it wearily. Loki did not attack, just moved his eyes from Laufey, to Odin in his bed. His hard expression faltered slightly. ''You would not be the first to think so, nor the one whose opinion matters most.''

Laufey decided to use his distraction to attack, but Loki was ready.

His head snapped back to attention and he lifted the scepter. Before Laufey could even reach him, he blasted him back and to the ground, his other arm serving as an anchor for the blast and flying forward. Laufey struggled to get to his feet and failed, settling for his knees as he looked back up at Loki.

Laufey opened his mouth to speak, but Loki did not give him the chance. The second blast obliterated Laufey, and when the small slivers of ice finished falling to the floor, the room remained completely silent.

Loki slowly lowered his scepter to his side, and the battle at his back resumed. He knelt beside Natasha as the last of the Frost Giants were destroyed, and he craddled her limp body in his arms.

When it was over, her fellow Avengers came to his side and took her from him. They rushed her away, following close at Thor's heel as he led them to the infirmary to get her help. Sir and the Warriors Three followed behind, leaving the room mostly empty in their wake.

Loki stayed behind, knowing there was nothing he could do to help Natasha. Instead, he sat beside his father, still immersed in Odinsleep, and gently grasped his hand. A recovered Frigga stood at his back and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. When he felt her there at his side, he put his face in his free hand and rested his elbow on his knee.

When the tears came Frigga knelt at Loki's side and wrapped her arms around the trembling shoulders of her son. He cried for Natasha, for his father, for his baby, and for himself.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait. It's a little short, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not sure if I will put the rest into one chapter or two, so it will be as much of a surprise for me as it will be for you. Please keeping reading and reviewing.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

''Agent Romanoff is awake.''

Those words restored the life to Loki that had disappeared after he had ended Laufey.

He looked up from Odin to Thor in the doorway, and stood slowly from the seat that he had occupied the past four days. Odin still had yet to awaken from Odinsleep, but Loki knew that his father could hear him as he confessed all of his sins and his regrets and his fears to him. He kept his hopes still and hidden behind his lips, knowing they would fall on deaf ears.

''Natasha,'' he breathed as he crossed the room, brushing past his brother as he escaped into the hallway. His pace quickened with each step, his heart racing in his chest as he made his way toward the infirmary. His breath was shallow, though not from the exertion of his exhausted body. His desire to see Natasha awake and find out the fate of their child made his heart heavy in his chest.

The other Avengers were exiting the infirmary when Loki approached, and he slowed nearly to a stop when he saw them. He approached them cautiously, not forgetful of the fact that he had been in shackles when they had seen him last.

After a long moment, Steve cleared his throat and spoke. ''She's, uh... waiting for you.''

Loki nodded his head slowly in acknowledgement, and started to move past them. Tony's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

''Oh, and good work with the big blue guy,'' Tony said in his usual casual manner. ''Not so much with what came before, you know, when you killed all those people. But after that. After was great.''

Loki opened his mouth to reply, but a voice sounding from the room stilled his tongue.

''Loki?''

He moved past the Avengers and into the infirmary, crossing the rows of empty beds until he was at Natasha's side. His breath caught at the sight of her, and his heart beat so furiously he worried it would break through his chest.

Natasha was as pale as the sheets that she lay upon, and her lips were dry and cracked. Her hair was like fire across the sheets, but the curls were lifeless and limp. Her eyes gave him comfort from the sight, for they were as sharp as when he had first met her.

''I look a lot worse than I feel,'' Natasha said, smiling wryly. ''Or so Stark assured me.''

The humor of her statement was lost on Loki, and she sighed in response to his frown. The tension between them was palpable, but Natasha knew exactly the knife to use to cut it.

''The baby is fine.''

Loki blinked as he absorbed her statement, his face giving nothing away. Natasha absently ghosted her hand over the small lump her belly made beneath the blanket that was spread over her, waiting for him to speak.

''Actually, he wasn't hurt at all,'' Natasha said, when Loki failed to find something to say. ''He's probably the only reason I'm alive.''

''He?'' Loki asked, finally breaking his silence. His eyebrows were raised slightly, and his eyes were wide in shock. She pressed her lips tightly together and looked shyly away. ''I will have a son?''

''I don't know how accurate your doctors are, but that was what I was told,'' she explained.

''The healers are always accurate,'' Loki breathed absently, sharply, his face still blank apart from his shock.

''How are you feeling?'' Natasha asked him suddenly.

This seemed to break Loki from his stupor, and his gaze on her was sharp. ''I am not the one who spent the last four days in the infirmary.''

''You spent the last four days with your father,'' Natasha stated, and when Loki's brow furrowed she explained. ''Thor told me. That you haven't eaten, that you haven't slept. You would look fitting in the bed beside me.''

Loki ran a hand through his hair and looked away from her, his expression irate. Natasha reached up before she could stop herself, and her fingers gently brushed the hand that was still limp at his side.

He jerked away from her in surprise, and her hand recoiled to her chest. Loki's expression was apologetic, and he sat down in the chair beside her bed. He did not pull away when her hand ventured toward him again, this time tracing the dark circle beneath one of his eyes with her thumb.

He closed his eyes beneath her touch and sighed, before turning his head into her palm and inhaling the sweet scent of her skin.

''I think I forgot your touch with the wall of glass between us,'' he said to her, his green eyes opening to meet hers. ''I have seen your hands take life after life, but when you touch me now it is gentle. It amazes me.''

He moved from beneath her hand, but it was only to lean forward and skim his fingers over her swollen belly.

''What are we supposed to do?'' Natasha asked solemnly.

Loki pressed his lips into a tight line, a heaviness settling on his chest. They had not talked about what would happen after the war was over, even during their long conversations at night when she would visit him at his containment cell.

''What happens now?'' she pressed. Loki leaned back in his chair, his expression solemn as he pressed his fingers to his lips.

''What do you want?'' he asked her.

''I never thought I would be able to have a child,'' Natasha said distantly. ''It's not something I had ever planned for.''

''Even if you had, I doubt you would have planned for a Frost Giant,'' Loki replied dryly. When she frowned, his fingers abandoned his lips and absently wrapped around her slender ones against the bed sheet. Her hand twitched beneath his, and his grip tightened in comfort.

''I don't think I'm especially qualified to raise a human child. I don't even know what it would mean to raise one that's not human,'' she said honestly.

Loki's eyes flickered over her face, and his expression was not happy. ''You are implying that you will be raising our son alone.''

Natasha gave him a trying look. ''You need to be here with your family, Loki.''

''He will not be raised in Asgard,'' Loki snapped at her.

''I know,'' she replied calmly. She moved her hand from beneath his, and Loki's eyes wearily followed the movement. His brow furrowed when she rested her hand on her abdomen, thoroughly away from his own, and then he understood.

''I'm human. I'm not meant to be here. I don't know how to handle gods and demons and magic,'' she confessed.

''Natasha-''

''You need to fix the bridges you burned between you and your father and you and Thor,'' she continued. ''You have to be here to do that.''

''Enough!'' he said sharply, and she pressed her lips closed and into a tight line. He sighed into his fingers, and closed his eyes for a long moment as he calmed his agitated nerves.

''I do not know my options, Natasha,'' he told her in a whisper, his eyes opening and flickering back to her face. ''I will not know until my father awakens.''

''Do you think he will let you stay with me?'' Natasha asked carefully.

Loki's responding smile was bitter. ''I will not be fool twice to suggest I know the workings of that man and his mind.''

There was a knock on the door, and Thor appeared in the doorway. He swallowed hard, and his eyes looked wearily to Loki. ''It is father,'' he said, his voice rumbling out and sending a tremor down Loki's spine. ''He is awake.''

Loki paled in response to the words, and his expression became drawn. He barely registered the feel of Natasha's fingers brushing against his arm to reassure him. He nodded sharply at Thor and rose from his place beside Natasha's bed.

He gazed down at her for a long moment, still flush against the pale sheets. She regarded him blankly, but he could see the worry etched in her eyes. He slowly leaned down over her, and pressed the softest kiss to her lips.

Natasha gasped against his mouth, and raised her fingers to ghost over his cheek. His lips were cold, but they were soft as they fitted to hers. The kiss was chaste, and it lingered on her lips as Loki left her and followed his brother from the infirmary.

She would have loved it if it hadn't felt like a goodbye.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I've been really busy. There is one more chapter, the epilogue, and then the story will be finished. Please read and review.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Avengers or any of its associations.

* * *

Natasha rolled onto her side in bed, her body aching and not allowing sleep. She blinked her eyes until they adjusted to the darkness, chasing the shadows back and confining them to the corners of the room.

Her heart grew heavy in her chest when her eyes registered the stark emptiness of the room around her. It was much too large for her alone, and it made her feel small and vulnerable. She sighed into her pillow and silently cursed Tony Stark for his extravagance.

Three months had passed since the Avengers had returned from Asgard and she had taken up residency in the freshly erected Avengers Tower. Tony had grumbled at first about the name, but eventually agreed since it would serve as headquarters to their roughly assembled team of heroes. Steve and Bruce and Clint were also staying in the tower, and there was a room for Thor whenever he visited from Asgard.

Natasha eyed the empty glass on her bedside table, and grunted as she rolled off of the bed and onto her feet to fill it.

She hissed at the cold wood floor beneath her bare feet, but made no other sound as she crossed the room to the on-suite bathroom. She didn't bother to turn on the light, and instead turned the faucet on blindly and filled the glass to the brim.

She pressed the glass to her lips and sipped at the lukewarm liquid before it spilled, and slowly slipped from the bathroom. She gasped sharply when she saw a dark figure standing in the middle of the room, and the glass dropped from her hand and shattered on the floor at her feet.

The figure cursed in a language she did not know and flipped on the light, before quickly crossing the room to her.

She blinked past the light as it blinded her eyes, and by the time she could finally make him out, Loki was already sweeping her off her feet and away from the spilled glass.

He dropped her down haughtily on the bed, his expression hard and displeased. ''I made it halfway into the room before you noticed me,'' he snarled at her.

''How was your mission?'' she asked him with wide eyes.

''What if it had not been me?'' Loki continued, ignoring her question.

Natasha said nothing, just stared up at him as she waited for his answer.

He sighed, exasperated, and tossed the duffle bag he'd been holding to the floor beside the bed. Natasha's eyes flickered to his hands as he fingered the metal cuffs on his wrists that restrained his magic. ''Frustrating,'' he replied.

''Nothing your silver tongue couldn't handle,'' Natasha drawled, and Loki's eyes softened as he gazed down at her.

''My silver tongue has a bit more work before it is done tonight,'' Loki replied lowly, before moving slowly onto the bed above Natasha and kissing her. His weight pressed her into the soft covers, and she moaned from the feel of him.

''Tell me more,'' she begged him, pushing him back enough to free her mouth to speak. He snarled impatiently against her lips, but when her hands continued to hold him back he surrendered.

He rolled them over on the bed so that he lay flush against the covers and she straddled his waist. She rested her hands on his chest as she gazed down at him in anticipation, and he brushed his fingertips gently over the swell of her belly.

''My son has grown,'' he remarked, and she tweaked an eyebrow in irritation.

''You were gone for a month,'' she reminded him. ''Did you expect he would stop growing while you were away?''

His responding glare made her lip twitch in amusement. ''I think your Director Fury intended for me to be kept away longer.''

''He's your Director Fury too,'' she reminded him. ''And maybe you should keep your tongue in check and stop messing with all the guards.''

''When I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I agreed to give up my magic,'' Loki replied lowly. ''But I am still the God of Mischief.''

''That you are,'' she replied wryly, and Loki glared at her briefly before rolling over to dominate her once again. She moaned as his hands started coaxing the straps of her tank top off of her shoulders, and hissed when he caught the nipple of her exposed breast between his teeth.

She twisted her legs around his waist and rolled him once more onto his back. He growled in irritation. ''Tell me details,'' she begged him.

''I have been gone for a month,'' he reminded her, his narrowed eyes flitting over her body above him.

''And I have been out of the field longer than that,'' she pressed. ''I miss it.''

He sighed as he lifted his upper body off of the sheets. He pressed a quick, harsh kiss to her lips and stood up, before depositing her back to the bed and crossing to the bathroom.

She watched him with lazy eyes as he undressed in the doorway, and frowned when he disappeared behind the door and turned on the faucet for the shower. He returned a few minutes later, freshly showered and naked save for the towel wrapped loosely around his waist.

She laughed at the mess his hair was on top of his head, and she wobbled from the bed to where he stood in the middle of the room. She stood on her toes to reach him, and ran her fingers carefully through his hair to ease the wet strands into place. He closed his eyes in response to her touch, and when she finished he pressed a kiss to her palm as her hand retracted.

''I will tell you about my mission,'' he told her, and his eyes darkened a few shades. ''And then we go to bed.''

She sat back on the bed as he talked, and watched him as he dressed for bed. It was strange to see him in normal clothes opposed to his Asgardian uniform, even though he had been for months now.

He recovered the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform he'd abandoned in a pile on the floor by the bathroom, and hung it next to hers in the wardrobe.

Every now and then, Loki would throw narrowed glances at her as he spoke and moved about the room, discretely loving the way her face would light up as he recounted the events of his mission. The missions were nothing compared to the battles he had endured in Asgard and the other realms, but it was part of his bargain to stay with Natasha.

Odin had originally wanted to throw him into a prison cell for a few thousand years after he found out what Loki had done, but when he had been told of the child he became open to other options.

With his best agent out of the field, Fury had been all too willing to strike up a bargain for Loki. Odin bound his powers with the bracelets, and sent Loki back to Earth to redeem himself and his sins.

He was banished from Asgard and from his home, but only temporarily. Though Natasha would live longer than most humans because of the tampering of the Red Room, she was not immortal. He would stay on Midgard until Natasha passed away, and until his bloodline died out completely. He would get to see his child grow and die, and his child's child grow and die, until by some accident his offspring did not reproduce.

It would only then, when Loki had no more attachment to Midgard, that he would return to Asgard. His fate from there would be decided by Thor, who had taken the throne a short while after Odin had woken from Odinsleep.

Loki had not been allowed presence at the coronation, and his heart hung heavy in his chest at the thought. There was still a tension between the two brothers, but Loki knew that once that died down their bond would be stronger than ever.

When he finished recounting the mission to Natasha, she stared up at him passively as he approached the bed. He paused just before her, his eyes flickering over the face of the first woman that would ever understand him, and the only woman he would ever love.

''Now, where were we?'' he asked her, before taking her mouth and pressing her into the bed.

* * *

Author's Note: The end. I hope this chapter was as nice to read as it was to write. I don't know if I will be writing another story or not, but if I do I hope you will continue to read and support me. Thank you all for reading, and please review.


	26. Chapter 26

I am going to start a new story, called ''Fix You''. Like ''How It Ends'', it will not follow the course of events through the Avengers movie. Instead, it will be an alternate universe stemming from the end of Thor.

I have the first two chapters finished, but the ones after will come a bit more slowly as I work out the details of the plot. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to accomplish with it, and I hope you all see me through.


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